The Pentagon said Wednesday that the ICBM fired by North Korea was a first-of-its-kind missile that the U.S. had not seen before and represented a dangerous escalation of the threat posed by the regime of Kim Jong Un.
“This act demonstrates that North Korea poses a threat to the United States and our allies, and we remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies and to use the full range of our capabilities at our disposal against the growing threat from North Korea,” said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The U.S. military tracked the missile as it flew nearly straight up for 37 minutes, the longest flight for a North Korean missile test to date. It found that the missile had been fired on a lateral trajectory, it would have been capable of traveling more than 3,400 miles, the benchmark that would qualify it as a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Pentagon said the two-stage missile was fired from a mobile launcher at the Panghyon aircraft plant, about 60 miles north of the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
The U.S. said the test posed a hazard to ships, planes and space objects because North Korea failed to provide any of the usual safety warnings to maritime or commercial air traffic before launching the missile.
“Any time responsible nations conduct live-fire tests of any kind, they issue closures. They issue notice to airmen, notice to mariners, and they ensure that sea traffic and air traffic doesn’t go into that location,” Davis said. “That’s what responsible nations do.”
The missile’s re-entry vehicle landed in the Sea of Japan within Japan’s 250-mile exclusive economic zone, a busy shipping area.
The Pentagon said no damage was caused by the missile, but it posed an unacceptable risk to commercial sea and air traffic.
“This missile flew through busy air space used by commercial airliners. It flew through space. It landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone in an area that is used by commercial and fishing vessels — all of this completely uncoordinated,” Davis said.
The U.S. responded with a missile firing of its own, sending precision short-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) into the waters off South Korea in a “snap” exercise meant to show resolve.
The Pentagon won’t discuss future military options, except to say that planning for the defense of South Korea is highly developed and been ongoing for years.
“Clear there remain options available on the diplomatic side,” Davis said. “It is our goal to be in support of the State Department in carrying out those options and give them the ability to negotiate from a position of strength.”
