North Korea Fired Ballistic Missiles Capable Of Reaching Anywhere In The US: South Korea And Japan

North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, said the South Korean military, as per a Guardian report. The launch comes hours after Pyongyang fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday, according to Seoul.

In its statement, the South Korean military said that the launch was made on Monday morning  and that the missile flew about 1,000km before falling into the sea, as per the Guardian report.

Japan’s defence ministry also said that it detected a suspected launch of the ballistic missile by North Korea and the government has called a meeting of its national security council in response to the launch.

North Korean ICBM ballistic missile tests could have a range covering all of the US, Tokyo said, according to AFP.

“The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time, if calculated based on the trajectory, depending on weight of warhead, could have a flying range of over 15,000 kilometres (9,320 miles). In which case the whole of the US territory would be within the range,” said Shingo Miyake, parliamentary vice-minister of defence, as per the AFP report.

The test firing comes amid rising tensions in the region as Seoul and Washington warned that any nuclear attack would lead to the end of Pyongyang’s regime.

The Sunday launch by the North covered approximately 570 kilometres (354 miles) before landing in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, according to Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The launch was confirmed by Japan’s defence ministry and its coastguard reported that it seemed to have already fallen.

Amid a series of test launch by the North, senior officials from South Korea and the US met in met in Washington over the weekend and agreed to update their nuclear deterrence and contingency strategies and incorporate nuclear operation scenarios in their combined military exercises next summer, as per the Guardian report.