N Korea conducts longest-ever ICBM test

TOKYO — North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday that marked the longest-ever flight time for one of the country's missiles, triggering condemnation from Japan, South Korea and the United States.

The ICBM launch, apparently on a lofted trajectory, was swiftly confirmed by North Korea through its state-run media, with leader Kim Jong Un vowing to continue reinforcing the country's nuclear forces.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said the ICBM-class missile was launched northeastward from near Pyongyang at around 7:11 a.m. and fell at around 8:37 a.m. outside Japan's exclusive economic zone west of Hokkaido's Okushiri Island, with no damage to planes and ships reported.

"North Korea's development of missiles and nuclear weapons threaten the peace and safety of our nation and the international community, so they are totally unacceptable," Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters, adding Japan will gather information by closely cooperating with the United States and South Korea.

The missile, which logged a flight time of 86 minutes and traveled a distance of about 1,000 kilometers with a record altitude of over 7,000 km, is possibly "a new type," Nakatani said.

North Korea often fires missiles on steep vertical paths, apparently to test their capabilities while avoiding other countries.

North Korea last launched a ballistic missile on Sept. 18 and an ICBM on Dec. 18, when it tested the new solid-fuel Hwasong-18. The latest test may reflect the secretive country's intention to showcase progress in its development of missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland, ahead of next week's U.S. presidential election.

It also came as the world is closely watching whether North Korea will start fighting alongside Russia in support of the invasion of Ukraine, fueling fears that Pyongyang could obtain military and nuclear technologies from Moscow in return, as well as battle experience.

Japan's top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi described the test as "an outrageous act that would escalate tensions with the entire global community," warning North Korea could engage in "further provocative acts including a nuclear test."

Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters that Tokyo has lodged a stern protest with Pyongyang over the missile launch.

While there was no immediate threat to the United States or its allies, the White House said in a statement that the launch is a "flagrant violation" of multiple U.N. resolutions and "needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region."

It said the United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of its homeland, as well that of Japan and South Korea.

Senior officials of Japan, South Korea and the United States held phone talks and "strongly condemned" the North's latest launch, reaffirming their close collaboration in bolstering deterrence and response capabilities, according to the Japanese government.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, meanwhile, urged North Korea to immediately cease actions that threaten the peace of the Korean Peninsula, including releasing balloons carrying waste that have flown across the border since May and dispatching troops for Russia's war.

Just hours after the launch was detected, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said an ICBM test had been conducted in the morning at the order of Kim, who was on the spot, demonstrating the credibility of the country's "most powerful strategic deterrent."

Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying the launch was intended to send a warning to "rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security" of North Korea, apparently referring to the United States and South Korea.

Speculation had been growing that North Korea could fire a ballistic missile or conduct its seventh nuclear test before or after the U.S. presidential election next Tuesday.

South Korean lawmakers said Wednesday that Pyongyang could launch an ICBM in November and it had completed preparations for a nuclear test at its Punggye-ri site for a possible test the same month, after being briefed by the country's Defense Ministry.

The Punggye-ri site is where North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear weapons tests to date, beginning in 2006, including the most powerful one in September 2017.

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