N.Korea Fires ICBM Ahead of S.Korea, Japan Summit

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) toward the East Sea today, hours before summit talks between the leaders of South Korea and Japan on pending bilateral issues and regional security

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang on Thursday morning, and the missile flew some 1,000km before splashing into the sea.

A military official told Yonhap news agency that this missile could be the Hwasong-17, with chances slim that the North shot a solid-fuel ICBM.

The launch, the North’s third weapons testing this week, also comes as South Korean and U.S. troops continue Freedom Shield (FS) joint military exercises.

Pyongyang last fired the Hwasong-17 ICBM in November. It is known to have a range of over 13,000 km, long enough to target the continental United States.

Last month, the North fired a Hwasong-15 ICBM, which Seoul believes has a range of longer than 10,000 km.