North Korea launches ICBM over East Sea... "presumption of new missile tests"

"Ballistic Missile Launched Over East Sea from North Korea, Pyongyang"
Suspected New ICBM...1,000km flight from high angle
"estimated test firing to shoot further, higher"
"We are also analyzing the possibility of using a new 12-axis mobile launcher."

[Anchor]
North Korea has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile and ICBM into the East Sea for the first time in 10 months.

The South Korean military analyzed that it has test-fired a new solid-powered ICBM that can strike all over the U.S. mainland by increasing its range and warhead weight.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area at around 7:10 a.m.

The military estimated that it was a new intercontinental ballistic missile, an ICBM.Launched at an elevation of

, it flew 1,000km and landed on the East Sea.

When the Hwasong-18 was launched late last year, North Korea claimed to have flown 1,002.3 kilometers for 73 minutes and 58 seconds, rising to a peak altitude of 6,500 kilometers.

It was also a high-angle launch using solid fuel, but the military analyzed that it was a test launch to shoot further and higher.

[Lee Sung-joon / Director of Public Affairs, Joint Chiefs of Staff : May have test-fired a new solid-powered long-range ballistic missile. It went higher than what it shot last December.]

A day before the launch, the Defense Intelligence Agency reported to the National Assembly that the deployment of mobile missile launchers in certain areas of North Korea had been completed.

The military is also analyzing the possibility that the new 12-axis mobile launcher, which North Korea first unveiled during Chairman Kim Jong-un's field inspection, was used this time.

[Ahn Chan-myung / Joint Chiefs of Staff Director of Operations: It is a provocative act that clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions. We strongly urge an immediate end to actions that harm peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the international community.

The military has repeatedly warned that North Korea is constantly carrying out illegal provocations despite repeated warnings and that it is responsible for all subsequent incidents.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.



Photographer: Woo Young-taek
Video editing: Ma Young-hoo