North Korea claims to have conducted its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM], a development that, if confirmed, could move the regime closer to being able to strike the US mainland and dramatically strengthen its hand in negotiations with Washington. The claim contradicts earlier reports by the US military that the North had test-fired an intermediate-range weapon. Analysts said data suggested the missile has the range to strike Alaska but not other parts of the continental US.
South Korea’s military confirmed that North Korea had fired an “unidentified ballistic missile” into the Sea of Japan – known as the East Sea in Korea – from Banghyon in North Pyongan, a province near its border with China.
