North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday, November 18, which would have fallen into Japan’s exclusive economic zone. A shot that follows the fifty missiles fired in the past two months by Pyongyang in response to exercises by the South Korean and American armies. Again on Thursday, North Korea had fired a short-range missile and promised a fierce response to the military rapprochement between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.
With our correspondent in Seoul, Nicholas Rocca
Pyongyang has decided to escalate the tension on the peninsula. After threats from the North Korean Foreign Minister, North Korea brought out the heavy artillery.
According to South Korean and Japanese information, the intercontinental ballistic missile would have reached a maximum altitude nearly fifteen times higher than that of the International Space Station, before crashing 200 km from the Japanese coast.
But the missile could go much further than the archipelago, because Tokyo estimates that it would be able to fly 15,000 km. Which means it would have the potential to hit Washington and the entire territory of the United States.
► To read also: North Korea says ready to respond firmly to U.S.-South Korean military drills
Washington in sight
This test therefore seems directly aimed at the American enemy. Moreover, the Vice-President of the United States, Kamala Harris, called a meeting with the allied countries of the region to discuss the missile launch on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bangkok.
A reaction in accordance with the American desire to reaffirm in recent weeks its ability to use all means, including nuclear, to defend Seoul and Tokyo against the North Korean threat. Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean president, called for his part to strengthen the means of deterrence against a North Korea which continues to improve its military capabilities.
► To read also: Asean: the denuclearization of North Korea, “precondition for peace in the Indo-Pacific”