INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
North Korea has tested a banned intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time since 2017, South Korea and Japan say.Japanese
officials estimated it flew 1,100 km (684 miles)
It fell in Japanese waters after flying for more than an hour.An ICBM can travel thousands of kilometres on a standard trajectory, and could
theoretically reach the US.North Korea has launched a flurry of missile tests in recent weeks.The US and South Korea have said some of those
newer and more powerful than the one fired five years ago, reaching an altitude of more than 6,000km, according to Japanese officials.The
United States and South Korea have warned in recent weeks that North Korea may be preparing to test-fire an ICBM at full range for the first
time since 2017.On 16 March, North Korea launched a suspected missile that appeared to explode shortly after liftoff over Pyongyang, South
violation of UN sanctions.The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests, and has imposed strict sanctions after
previous tests.In 2018 Kim Jong-un put in place a moratorium on long-range ballistic missile and nuclear tests, following talks with then US
President Donald Trump.But in 2020, Mr Kim announced he was no longer bound by this promise.In 2017 North Korea tested an ICBM - the
Hwasong-12 - which reached an altitude of about 4,500km.The Hwasong-14 demonstrated even greater potential, with a range of 8,000km.Only the
US, Russia and China have land-based missiles of this range.Experts estimated that the 2017 missile could have travelled more than 13,000km
comes as satellite images showed North Korea firing up activity at its nuclear testing facility in Punggye-ri earlier this month, stoking
fears that the North would resume testing nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.The facility, located in the north-east of the country,
had been blown up in 2018 after Mr Kim promised to halt all nuclear tests.Source: BBC-Agencies
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
