North Korea Missile Has "Escalated" Nuclear Threat

Image: KCNA handout.

A first-ever intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launch by North Korea has 'escalated the threat' to the United States, according to US secretary of state Rex Tillerson.

The launch is a direct rebuke to US President Donald Trump's earlier declaration that such a test "won't happen" and appears to be North Korea's most successful missile launch yet.

A US scientist examining the height and distance said the missile could potentially be powerful enough to reach Alaska, more than 4,000 miles away.

North Korea has previously threatened to launch nuclear strikes on both the US and South Korea.

Mr Tillerson confirmed it was indeed an intercontinental ballistic missile, calling it a "new escalation of the threat" to the US.

He said:

"Global action is required to stop a global threat.

"Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime."

In a direct response to the missile launch, US and South Korean soldiers fired "deep strike" precision missiles into South Korean territorial waters.

The US Eighth Army said the missile firings were a show of force meant to demonstrate US-South Korean solidarity.

North Korea's Academy of Defence Science said the test of an ICBM, the Hwasong-14, marked the "final step" in creating a "confident and powerful nuclear state that can strike anywhere on Earth".

The country has previously launched satellites, however, a test-launch of an ICBM would be a major step in their development of nuclear-armed missiles that could reach anywhere in the United States.

US, South Korean and Japanese officials say the missile flew for about 40 minutes and reached an altitude of 1,500 miles, which would be longer and higher than any similar North Korean test previously reported.

It also covered a distance of about 580 miles.

US missile scientist David Wright estimated the highly lofted missile, if the reported time and distance are correct, could have a possible maximum range of 4,160 miles, which could put Alaska in its range.

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commanding officer of the British Armed Forces Joint Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear Regiment, said:

"In capability of missile terms and delivery, it is a major step up and they seem to be making progress week-on-week."

He added, however, that "actually marrying the warhead to the missile is probably the biggest challenge, which they appear not to have progressed on".

Soon after the morning launch, President Trump responded on Twitter:

After North Korea claimed earlier this year it was close to an ICBM test launch, Mr Trump tweeted: "It won't happen!"

China and Russia proposed on Tuesday that North Korea declare a moratorium on nuclear and missile tests while the US and South Korea refrain from large-scale joint military exercises.

North Korea views the exercises as preparation for an invasion and has repeatedly demanded their cancellation.

It says it needs nuclear weapons and powerful missiles to cope with what it calls rising US military threats.

Defence Analyst Christopher Lee told Forces News:

"The only way to stop Kim Jong-un is not the way to stop the North Korean nuclear inauguration into the Club of Twelve.

"Trump says it could all lead to war. Kim says go for it."

"The phenomenon of this week is not the missile, nor the threats, but how Kim Jong-un has single handedly hi-jacked the G20, the Xi-Putin summit and the Trump-Merkel meeting.

"Put all this together and you have the perfect illustration why this is no superpowerdom, and why there never again will be, and, therefore, why nuclear war is inevitable."