North Korea Says It Fired Hwasong-15 ICBM at Lofted Angle
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – North Korea said Sunday it has fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at a lofted angle in a "sudden launching" drill aimed at ensuring the country's powerful nuclear deterrent.
"The drill was suddenly organized without previous notice under an emergency firepower combat standby order given at dawn of February 18," the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in an English-language report.
The missile was launched at the international airport in Pyongyang in the afternoon, with a unit of the Missile General Bureau mobilized, it added, Yonhap news agency reported.
It flew 989 kilometers for 4,015 seconds at an apogee of 5,768.5 km and landed in the international waters of the East Sea, according to the KCNA.
It marked North Korea's first ICBM launch since it fired a Hwasong-17 ICBM in November last year.
It cited the military threats of the United States and South Korea, which are "getting serious to the extent that cannot be overlooked," and it ordered all military units in charge of missile operations to thoroughly maintain a combat readiness posture, the KCNA said.
The North's latest missile launch, its second this year, came after it warned Friday the country will take "unprecedentedly persistent and strong" counteractions if Seoul and Washington press ahead with their planned combined military exercises.
The allies are scheduled to conduct a tabletop exercise at the Pentagon next week against the North's potential use of nuclear weapons. They also plan to hold the regular springtime Freedom Shield (FS) exercise next month, alongside concurrent large-scale field drills.
In a separate statement, Kim Yo-jong, a sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, also said that the North will carry out a "very powerful and overwhelming" response to any hostile acts against Pyongyang.
"(The US) should stop all the actions posing threats to the security of our state and refuse to tarnish the DPRK's dignity, always thinking twice for its own future security," she said in the English-language statement. DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
She also reaffirmed that North Korea has "no intention to stand face to face" with the South.
