North Korea claimed on Tuesday that it had test-fired its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). That was the first missile launch in more than a month. In May, the regime fired a rocket that reached an altitude of more than 2,000 kilometres before plunging into the Sea of Japan. A missile must have the minimum range of 5,500 kilometres to qualify as ICBM.
The missile, which was was launched on the eve of the US’s July 4 Independence Day celebrations and just before the start of the G20 summit in Hamburg, threatens to escalate tensions with US President Donald Trump, who views North Korea’s nuclear programme as the biggest threat facing America.
The rocket flew for about 40 minutes and reached a high point of more than 2,500 kilometres. It appeared to land in Japan’s exclusive economic zone, an area stretching up to 200 nautical miles from the Japanese coast. The US military initially identified the rocket as intermediate range. It appeared the missile had the range to hit Alaska.
North Korea is accelerating its efforts to acquire a bigger nuclear deterrent to counter what the regime of Kim Jong-un calls growing military provocation by the United States and its regional allies, South Korea and Japan. The regime’s ultimate goal is to produce a nuclear bomb that can be mounted on a missile capable of carrying it to the US mainland. In 2016, North Korea detonated two nuclear devices, its fourth and fifth tests.
In April, Mr Trump promised Chinese President Xi Jinping a “far better” trade deal if Beijing applied more pressure on Pyongyang, but also warned that the US was prepared to punish the totalitarian regime unilaterally for its repeated missile and nuclear tests.
Last month, Washington approved 1.4 billion dollars arms sale to Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory, and sanctioned a Chinese bank for its alleged dealings with North Korea. The moves were announced as Mr Xi was arriving in Hong Kong to preside over ceremonies to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the return of the former British colony to China. Earlier this month, the Trump administration sent a US navy destroyer near a disputed island in the South China Sea. That ran counter to the spirit of the Trump-Xi summit at Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and is likely to complicate the White House’s efforts to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.
The Trump administration pushes China, North Korea’s long-time ally, to ramp up economic and diplomatic pressure on Pyongyang. China doesn’t want a failed state and US troops at its border, so it proposes a freeze on nuclear and missile tests on North Korea’s part and the suspension of joint military drills by Washington and Seoul. South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in pledged during a presidential campaign earlier this year to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula through dialogue and cooperation with Mr Jong-un’s regime. His views how to deal with the North are closer to Beijing than Washington.
Mr Trump could launch a pre-emptive strike on North Korea to destroy its nuclear and missiles programmes, but that would be at the cost of North Korea’s retaliation aimed at Seoul, which is located just 60 kilometres from the demilitarised zone and home to 10 million people. A pre-emptive attack is also likely to fail to wipe out the North’s nuclear facilities as most of them are hidden deep in mountain caves.
Photo: Roman Harak
