North Korea test launches missile with range to strike U.S.
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday, its second missile test in two days, CNN reports.
The missile was launched around 10:15 a.m. local time and likely landed in Japan's "exclusive economic zone," roughly 130 miles west of Oshima Oshima, a Japanese island.
"North Korea is continuing to carry out provocative actions at frequency never seen before," Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday. "I want to restate that we cannot accept such actions." The ICBM did not fly over Japan, and was reportedly North Korea's second-most powerful to date.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If launched at a normal angle (Friday's test was deliberately steep), flight data indicated the ICBM could theoretically reach anywhere in the U.S., The New York Times reports.
"The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time could have a range of over 15,000 kilometers when calculated based on the flight distance of this ICBM," Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in a statement. "It depends on the weight of the warhead, but in that case, the U.S. mainland would be included in the range."
Still, "North Korea has never demonstrated that its ICBM warhead can survive the heat and friction when it re-enters the Earth's atmosphere after soaring into space," the Times writes, per missile experts.
In response to the launch, President Yoon Suk-yeol said South Korea will work to strengthen ties with the U.S., as well as its overall "defense posture," CNN summarizes.
"The government will not tolerate North Korea's provocations," Yoon's office said.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is in Thailand for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, also condemned the launched, per CNN.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Today's political cartoons - November 23, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - qualifications, tax cuts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Long summer days in Iceland's highlands
The Week Recommends While many parts of this volcanic island are barren, there is a 'desolate beauty' to be found in every corner
By The Week UK Published
-
The Democrats: time for wholesale reform?
Talking Point In the 'wreckage' of the election, the party must decide how to rebuild
By The Week UK Published
-
Global court issues arrest warrant for Netanyahu
Speed Read The International Criminal Court issued warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who stand accused of war crimes
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz bows out, Trump pivots to Pam Bondi
Speed Read Gaetz withdrew from attorney generation consideration, making way for longtime Trump loyalist Pam Bondi
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
GOP's Mace seeks federal anti-trans bathroom ban
Speed Read Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation to ban transgender people from using federal facilities
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Ukraine fires ATACMS, Russia ups hybrid war
Speed Read Ukraine shot U.S.-provided long-range missiles and Russia threatened retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
New York DA floats 4-year Trump sentencing freeze
Speed Read President-elect Donald Trump's sentencing is on hold, and his lawyers are pushing to dismiss the case while he's in office
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Wyoming judge strikes down abortion, pill bans
Speed Read The judge said the laws — one of which was a first-in-the-nation prohibition on the use of medication to end pregnancy — violated the state's constitution
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US sanctions Israeli West Bank settler group
Speed Read The Biden administration has imposed sanctions on Amana, Israel's largest settlement development organization
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Gaetz ethics report in limbo as sex allegations emerge
Speed Read A lawyer representing two women alleges that Matt Gaetz paid them for sex, and one witnessed him having sex with minor
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published