North Korea Tests Non-ICBM Missile, Claims Success

State Media Claims Missile Is Nuke-Capable

According to North Korean state media, the weekend missile test they conducted was on a Pukguksong-2, a ballistic missile (though not an ICBM because of its shorter range), and which state media describes as capable of fitting a nuclear warhead. They say the test was a success.

A UN Security Council “consultation” on the matter is expected to be held Monday, at the behest of the US, South Korea, and Japan. The test is not producing a lot of talk of serious retaliation from the US or anyone else, however.

That is in part because such tensions tend to happen in the first quarter of every calendar year, and also because US officials say they had been expecting such a “provocation,” and it wasn’t surprising that it came around the time of Trump talking with Japan’s Prime Minister and China’s President.

The tested missile reached an altitude of about 550 km and flew about 500 km overall, landing in the water between Korea and Japan. It’s unclear what the maximum range of the missile is, but North Korean officials suggested a significant part of the test was a new truck from which the missile was fired, which would give it more mobility.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.