On January 15, the North Korean central news agency (KCNA) announced that North Korea had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on the afternoon of January 14.
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| Images from North Korea's missile launch on January 14th. |
According to KCNA , the hypersonic missile was launched to test the warhead's flight control and stability, as well as the reliability of the missile's solid-fuel engine. The launch was part of a routine operation to develop powerful weapon systems.
The KCNA statement said: “The test did not have any impact on the safety of our neighbors and was not related to the regional security situation.”
On January 14, the South Korean military announced that they detected the launch from an area in or around Pyongyang at approximately 2:55 p.m. (local time), and that the missile had traveled about 1,000 kilometers before crashing into the sea.
This was North Korea's first missile launch since launching the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on December 18.
In response to this latest move by North Korea, a US State Department spokesperson stated: "Washington condemns the ballistic missile launch on January 14."
Recognizing that this launch is similar to other ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang in recent years, violating numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions, posing a threat to North Korea's neighbors, and undermining regional security, the US stressed Washington's "ironclad" security commitment to South Korea and Japan.
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