North Korea test fires intercontinental missile with longest flight time on record

South Korea and Japan have reported that North Korea has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, recording the longest flight ever before falling into nearby east coast waters.

After observing the launch, Kim Jong-un took to state media to warn Pyongyang’s international opponents of their willingness to respond to threats and take “appropriate military action”.

The North Korean leader went on to affirm that his country “will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces.” 

The ICBM flew for roughly 86 minutes and was reportedly fired at a steep angle, according to Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani. The increased duration is worrying for those concerned, as the bump in flight time could be a result of improvements made since the last launch. 

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff have since said that the angle could have been an attempt to avoid neighbouring countries and that the missile could have covered a much greater distance if fired horizontally. 

Jung Chang Wook, head of the Korea Defense Study Forum think tank in Seoul, told AP the missile launched on Thursday could have carried the country’s biggest and most destructive warhead. 

Pyongyang heating up?

The breach of UN Security Council resolutions came at a point when relations between North Korea and its peninsula neighbour continue to be tense. Earlier this month, North Korea was reported to have destroyed the last remaining connecting roads between the two countries in an aggressive move.

The launch was likely a means to get international attention, as South Korea had warned of a potential ICBM this week ahead of the US presidential election on the 5th of November.

The country has previously argued that advancing its nuclear programme is the only reasonable response to the continued expansion of the US-South Korean military alliance that may attack. Both countries have denied such accusations. 

Responding to the launch, the White House’s National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said that the country “continues to prioritise its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programmes over the well-being of its people.”

There have been continued concerns that Pyongyang may be seeking Russia’s support to grow its nuclear programme, especially given the recent dispatch of troops to support Vladimir Putin’s forces in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

The US Pentagon has now estimated that roughly 10,000 soldiers have been sent to Eastern Russia, some to the Kursk region, and more have yet to be deployed.

Neither country has confirmed the allegations.

Following the recent launch, South Korean and US officials released a statement saying they would “take strong and varied response measures”. Seoul has said that fresh sanctions will be issued due to the ICBM.