Missile Possible: North Korea testing missiles, U.S. prepares
North Korea has recently claimed to have successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, armed with a “super-large heavy warhead,” which is capable of striking the US mainland. The country’s media made the announcement Wednesday, hours after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 3 a.m. launch of the Hwasong-15 missile, which reached the highest altitude ever recorded by a North Korean Missile. KCNA called its so-called new missile “the most powerful ICBM” and said it “meets the goal of the competition of the rocket weaponry system development. After the launch, Kim said North Korea had “ finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force,” according to KCNA. US Defence Secretary James Mattis said earlier the missile launch demonstrated North Korea could hit “everywhere in the world.” The launch was the first since September and came despite repeated warnings from President Donald Trump who told reporters at the White House after the launch that the US “will handle” the situation. “We will take care of it,” the President said. The Hwasong-15 soared 4,475 kilometers (2,800 miles) in the sky, spending 53 minutes in the air before it came splashing down in waters off the coast of Japan, North Korea said. The figures tallied with estimates released by Japan and South Korea. Mattis was with Trump and outlined how much more difficult the situation has become. He said, the test missile went “higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken” and demonstrates that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un now can hit “everywhere in the world basically.” David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists said that if the missile hadn’t been lofted into the sky and had flown on a standard trajectory, it would have been capable of traveling 13,000 kilometers, or 8,100 miles. “Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, DC, and in fact any part of the continental United States,” Wright said in a statement, though he noted that range probably would not be possible if the missile were fitted with a heavy nuclear warhead. “Today’s test proves that Pyongyang still feels able to test at will,” said Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, to CNN. He also added that it shows the Trump administration “has to get serious about deterring an atmospheric nuclear test.” For more information, see http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/28/politics/north-korea-missile-launch/index.html
