North Korea carried out its boldest ballistic missile test so far in an apparent attempt to ramp up pressure on President Joe Biden.
Japanese and South Korean military forces said that the missile was launched at a maximum altitude of 2,000 kilometers, or roughly 1,242 miles, at around 7:52 a.m. Sunday morning.
The missile flew for roughly 30 minutes before falling into waters east of the country, near the neighboring country of Japan, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told the Associated Press.
US SANCTIONS RUSSIAN SOURCE OF NORTH KOREA’S BALLISTIC MISSILE TECH
Nobuo Kishi, the Japanese defense minister, told the AP that this signified the longest-range missile that North Korean officials have tested since 2017, when they tested the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea has continued to ramp up missile launches during January, with one beginning on Jan. 5, followed by another on Jan. 11, followed by two more on Jan. 14.
The missile launch on Sunday marked the seventh so far this month and the third within a week. Two cruise missiles were launched from an inland area into the sea on Jan. 25, followed by the launching of two more ballistic missiles on Jan. 27.
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The Biden administration announced on Jan. 12 that it would be imposing sanctions on a Russian company that was accused of providing North Korea with ballistic missile technology.
North Korea has slammed the sanctions imposed by the United States and has threatened to take a “stronger and certain reaction to it” if a “confrontational stance” continues to be adopted, United Press International reported.
