North Korea Says Latest ICBM Test Capable Of Hitting Guam
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: January 31, 2022 02:30AM UTC
Last Modified: January 31, 2022 02:30AM UTC
NORTH KOREA - North Korea stated on Monday that the latest Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) called Hwasong-12 that it tested is capable of hitting Guam, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States.
Washington stated that it was North Korea's most significant weapon launch in years. The Hwasong-12 missile was launched toward North Korea's east coast at a high angle to prevent it flying over other countries and the camera on the warhead of the Hwasong-12 took a photo of earth from space. The accuracy, effectiveness and security was confirmed by the Academy of Defense Science.
Both South Korea and Japan assessed the missile's flight and said that it flew about 497 miles and reached a maximum altitude of around 1,242 miles before landing in the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The Hwasong-12 test was the most powerful missile test by North Korea since 2017 at which time North Korea launched the Hwasong-15 that was reportedly capable of reaching the United States mainland.
North Korea has recently made threats that it was going to lift its four year pause of testing more heavy duty weaponry such as nuclear weapons and ICBM launches such as the Hwasong-12 the country just tested.
The Hwasong-12 was North Korea's seventh round of test launches in the month of January which allegedly included both a hypersonic missile and a submarine launched ballistic missile.
According to AP news, the Biden administration plans to respond to the latest ICBM test 'in the coming days' with an 'unspecified move' that will be meant to demonstration to North Korea that it is committed to the security of allies in the indo-pacific region.
