N. Korea fires intermediate-range ballistic missile into East Sea: JCS

북, 동해로 중거리급 탄도미사일 발사 극초음속 미사일인 듯 And beyond those concerns on the healthcare front. Fresh fears over North Korea's advances in its missile technology have been reignited following a test-launch earlier this morning. Our defense correspondent Choi Min-jung has details. North Korea launched an apparent intermediate-range ballistic missile into the East Sea on Tuesday morning. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the missile at around 6:53 AM, launched toward the East Sea from the Pyongyang area. It traveled around 600 kilometers, shorter than average for an IRBM, which normally flies between 3 to 5,000 kilometers. However, a military official said due to its high speed, Tuesday's missile is likely a hypersonic intermediate-range-class ballistic missile. North Korea previously test-fired a solid-fuel hypersonic IRBM in January. And last month, the regime claimed success in a ground test of a solid-fuel engine, for a new medium-to-long-range hypersonic missile. Military officials said Tuesday's launch appears to be an upgrade from January's test-firing, as they spotted enhanced missile capabilities with the newly tested solid fuel engine. “The latest launch is believed to be related to the solid-fuel engine ground test that North Korea publicly revealed in March.“ Hypersonic missiles are designed to travel at more than five times the speed of sound, and often maneuver at relatively low altitudes, making them harder to detect and intercept. While North Korea's ICBMs are mainly designed to reach the U.S. mainland, IRBMs are weapons systems capable of targeting U.S. military bases in Guam or Japan. Tuesday's launch marks North Korea's third ballistic missile launch of the year. South Korea's military said it is closely cooperating with the U.S. and Japan to maintain a full readiness stance. The nuclear envoys of Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo also condemned North Korea for its recent missile test, and agreed to continue close cooperation to curb Pyongyang's threats ahead of the upcoming general election in South Korea. Choi Min-jung, Arirang News. #Southkorea #JCS #NorthKorea #Missile #Provocation #대한민국 #합참 #북한 #탄도미사일 #극초음속미사일 #도발 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-04-02, 14:00 (KST)