North Korea confirmed on Monday it fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile for the first time since 2017. The Hwasong-12 missile was fired on Sunday to test its accuracy and effectiveness for use, North Korean state media KCNA reported.
According to experts, the Hwasong-12 has a range of 4,500 kilometres and could theoretically reach the US Pacific island of Guam, where the US has a military base.
Photographs from Sunday’s launch, released by KCNA, were reportedly taken from a camera mounted to the missile. Two images show the launch while others allegedly show the missile in mid-flight.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff on Sunday said that the missile flew about 800 kilometres towards the open sea and reached an altitude 2,000 kilometres during the test.
Pyongyang has been ratcheting up tensions with a series of missile launches since the start of 2022. It was the North Korean regime’s seventh show of force this year so far.
With Sunday’s test, North Korea appeared close to breaking its self-imposed moratorium on testing medium- and long-range missiles. South Korean President Moon Jae In accused Pyongyang of moving a step closer to fully breaking that moratorium.
Moon also accused North Korea of violating UN resolutions, which ban it from testing ballistic missiles.
