North Korea fires another ballistic missile
North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, the regime’s first rocket launch since September, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday.
The missile was fired from Pyongsong, north of the country’s capital, Pyongyang, near dawn Wednesday, the news agency reported, citing South Korean military officials.
United States and Seoul officials were analyzing its trajectory.
President Trump responded to shouted questions about the launch as he left a Capitol Hill meeting, saying only, “We’ll be talking about it.”
US government experts said radio signals picked up recently by Japan indicated that Pyongyang was preparing a missile launch within the next couple of days.
Activity had also been detected at several missile bases.
North Korea, which is under heavy sanctions from the United States and the United Nations over its weapons development, last launched an ICBM into the Pacific over Japan on Sept. 15.
The firing comes as a South Korean official said Pyongyang has accelerated its nuclear program and could announce the completion of the program as soon as next year.
“North Korea has been developing its nuclear weapons at a faster-than-expected pace. We cannot rule out the possibility that North Korea could announce its completion of a clear force within one year,” Minister Cho Myoung-gyon told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday.
US experts said Pyongyang detonated a nuclear device in September and has been test-firing missiles as it works to develop a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear payload that could strike the US mainland.
Trump, during a 12-day trip to five Asian countries earlier this month, called for a concerted effort from the nations to pressure Pyongyang and enforce the sanctions and pressure the country to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
When he returned to Washington, Trump labeled President Kim Jong Un’s government a state sponsor of terrorism — a designation that would allow his administration to level more penalties on the belligerent country.
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