N Korea's Kim ordered test of 'new type' of missile

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un personally ordered the test-firing of the country's "new type" of intercontinental ballistic missile, state media has reported.

"The test-launch of a new type inter-continental ballistic missile Hwasongpho-17 of the DPRK strategic forces was conducted on 24 March... under the direct guidance of Kim Jong Un," KCNA said.

"The missile, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, travelled up to a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km and flew a distance of 1,090 km for 4,052s before accurately hitting the pre-set area in open waters of the East Sea of Korea," which is what Pyongyang calls the Sea of Japan, KCNA said.

North Korea conducted what is thought to be its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test ever this morning, militaries in South Korea and Japan said, marking a dramatic end to a self-imposed moratorium on long-range testing.

It would be the first full-capability launch of the nuclear-armed state's largest missiles since 2017.

It represents a major step in the North's development of weapons that might be able to deliver nuclear warheads anywhere in the United States.

The North's return to major weapons tests also poses a new national security headache for US President Joe Biden as he responds to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and presents a challenge to South Korea's incoming conservative administration.

Japanese authorities said the launch appeared to be a "new type" of ICBM that flew for about 71 minutes to an altitude of about 6,000km (3,728 miles) and a range of 1,100km (684 miles) from its launch site.

It landed inside Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), 170km (106 miles) west of the northern prefecture of Aomori, at 3.44pm (6.44am Irish time), the coast guard said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff put the missile's maximum altitude at 6,200km and its range at 1,080km.

That is further and longer than North Korea's last ICBM test in 2017, when it launched a Hwasong-15 missile that flew for 53 minutes to an altitude of about 4,475km and range of 950km.

South Korean deputy national security advisor Suh Choo-suk condemned the launch as "a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and a reversal of the moratorium on ICBM launches, which North Korea had promised to the international community".

South Korea's JCS said the latest missile was launched from near Sunan, where Pyongyang's international airport is located.

On 16 March, North Korea launched a suspected missile from that airport that appeared to explode shortly after liftoff, South Korea's military said.

Officials did not elaborate on the type of ICBM used in the launch, but US and South Korean officials have warned recently that North Korea had been preparing to test fire its largest ICBM yet, the Hwasong-17.

US officials said at least two recent tests, in February and March, featured the Hwasong-17.

"The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate ICBM range, was likely to evaluate this new system before conducting a test at full range in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch," a US official said earlier this month.

Pyongyang did not identify the missile system used in those launches, but said they were testing components for a reconnaissance satellite system.

This month, leader Kim Jong-Un said North Korea would soon launch multiple satellites to monitor military movements by the US and its allies.

Today's launch would be at least the 11th North Korean missile test this year, an unprecedented frequency that has drawn condemnation from the US, South Korea and Japan.

Analysts say the Hwasong-17 is "considerably larger" than the Hwasong-15. It was first unveiled in October 2020 and displayed a second time in October 2021.

The missile, which has been shown on a transporter vehicle with 11 axles, would be one of the world's largest road-mobile ICBMs.

Its diameter is estimated at 2.4 metres to 2.5 metres, with its total mass, when fully fuelled, probably ranging from 80,000kg to 110,000kg, according to 38 North, a US-based programme that monitors North Korea.

Meanwhile, the United States today condemned North Korea's test firing and urged the world to hold Pyongyang responsible for violating UN Security Council resolutions.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement that Washington "strongly condemns the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for its test of a long-range ballistic missile".

"This launch is a brazen violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilising the security situation in the region."

Amid a flurry of diplomacy in 2018, Mr Kim declared a self-imposed moratorium on testing ICBMs and nuclear weapons, but suggested the North could resume such testing amid stalled denuclearisation talks.

That moratorium had often been touted as a success by former US President Donald Trump, who held several historic summits with Mr Kim in 2018 and 2019, but never gained a concrete pact to limit the North's nuclear or missile arsenals.

In January, North Korea said it would bolster its defences against the US and consider resuming "all temporally suspended activities", according to state news agency KCNA, an apparent reference to the self-imposed moratorium.

New construction has also been spotted at North Korea's only known nuclear test site, which was closed in 2018.