(4th LD) N. Korea launches new solid-fuel ICBM ahead of U.S. election

(ATTN: REWRITES lead; ADDS details in paras 5-10, 15-16; TRIMS; CHANGES photos)
By Lee Minji and Chae Yun-hwan

SEOUL, Oct. 31 (Yonhap) — North Korea fired what appeared to be a new type of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, in an apparent move aimed at flaunting its nuclear capabilities ahead of the U.S. presidential election next week.

The ICBM launch, the first in about a year, also came hours after the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States jointly condemned the North’s troop deployment to Russia with “one voice” in the “strongest” terms during the allies’ annual defense talks at the Pentagon on Wednesday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missile, fired on a lofted trajectory, at about 7:10 a.m. from the North’s Pyongyang area and said it flew about 1,000 kilometers before landing in the East Sea. When fired at a normal angle, ICBMs are capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

“Early assessment showed there is a possibility (North Korea) may have test-fired a new type of solid-fuel long-range ballistic missile,” JCS spokesperson Lee Sung-jun told a press briefing.

Japanese authorities assessed the missile to have flown for a record 86 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of about 7,000 kilometers, an analysis shared by the South’s JCS.

In a rare move, North Korea confirmed its ICBM launch about five hours after the South Korean military’s announcement, calling it a “very crucial test.” The North usually confirms major weapons tests through its state media on the following day.

“I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces,” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Kim described the weapons test as an “appropriate military action” that aimed to inform its enemies of his country’s “counteraction will,” the KCNA said.

In an emergency meeting of the National Security Council held shortly after the launch, President Yoon Suk Yeol called for “stern” measures to deal with the North’s provocation. The government also decided to impose new unilateral sanctions against North Korea.

South Korea’s military also condemned the launch as a reckless provocation and warned the North will be held “wholly” accountable for all measures to follow.

“The defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to demonstrate the alliance’s determination for a response by strongly carrying out various measures, such as combined drills involving the deployment of U.S. strategic assets,” the JCS said.

Thursday’s launch came 10 months after the North fired a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM on Dec. 18.

Lee of the JCS said the North appears to have launched the missile to gain leverage ahead of the U.S. election, in a break from the current situation of intensifying scrutiny and criticism over the North’s troop deployment to Russia.

Compared with the previous launch, Lee raised the possibility of the North firing the ICBM from a new 12-axle transporter erector launcher capable of carrying a longer missile the North unveiled last month.

Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the North’s launch appears to have several strategic aims, including flaunting its deepening ties with Russia and its presence ahead of the U.S. elections, as well as diverting international criticism over its troop deployment.

“Given that an ICBM targets the U.S., (the North) has boasted its proven capability to retaliate in the event its safety is threatened,” Hong said.

mlee@yna.co.kr

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
(END)