North Korea over the past several weeks carried out two tests of a new intercontinental ballistic missile system, Pentagon officials said Thursday, and Pyongyang could be preparing to carry out more tests disguised as space launches.
Defense officials said North Korea carried out tests on Feb. 26 and March 4. They appeared to be the initial tests of a new ICBM system that North Korea first unveiled during a military parade last October.
“The purpose of these tests, which did not demonstrate ICBM range, was likely to evaluate this new system before conducting a test at full range in the future, potentially disguised as a space launch,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “The United States strongly condemns these launches, which are a brazen violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions, needlessly raise tensions and risk destabilizing the security situation in the region.”
“We have been and will continue to coordinate closely with our allies and partners to address the threats posed by [North Korea] and to advance our shared objective of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” he said.
Mr. Kirby said that in response to the North Korean tests, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command earlier this week “ordered intensified surveillance activity” in the Yellow Sea off the Korean coast. U.S. military personnel also have “enhanced readiness” of U.S. ballistic missiles in the region.
The tests involved a missile that is reportedly larger than the ICBM tested in 2017. That test sparked then-President Trump’s warning of “fire and fury,” though he eventually embarked on a diplomatic path with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
• Ben Wolfgang can be reached at bwolfgang@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.