SEOUL: North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Friday, just hours after the US and Japan moved to step up sanctions against Pyongyang following its recent test of an ICBM capable of reaching parts of the United States.

South Korean, US and Japanese monitors all detected the unusual late-night test, with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying the missile may have landed within Japan’s maritime exclusive economic zone.

The South Korean military said the missile was launched shortly before midnight, and Japanese monitors said it flew for 45 minutes before splashing down in the Sea of Japan.

The launch came a day after North Korea celebrated what it calls “Victory Day” — the anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang regularly times its missile tests to coincide with symbolic dates.

There was no immediate confirmation of the type of missile, but the flight time was longer than that of the intercontinental ballistic missile the North successfully tested for the first time on July 4.

Condemnation was swift with Japan’s top government spokesman, calling Friday’s test another clear violation of UN resolutions. “Our country will never tolerate it and made a severe protest to North Korea, condemning it in the strongest words,” Suga said.

In Seoul and Tokyo, the governments convened meetings of their national security councils.

Further sanctions

The US military and South Korean intelligence officials had in recent days warned that North Korea appeared to be prepping for another missile test — likely of an ICBM, or else an intermediate-range rocket.

The ICBM test on July 4 had triggered global alarm, with experts saying the missile had a theoretical range that could reach Alaska.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who personally oversaw that launch on America’s Independence Day, described it as a gift to the “American bastards”.

The ICBM test raised tensions in the region, pitting Washington, Tokyo and Seoul against China, Pyongyang’s last remaining major ally.

The United States instigated a push at the United Nations for tougher measures against Pyongyang, with US President Donald Trump saying he was considering a “pretty severe” response.

Friday’s launch comes just hours after the US Senate passed bipartisan sanctions on Pyongyang, and Japan slapped its own sanctions on two Chinese firms, including a bank accused of laundering North Korean cash.

North Korea’s accelerated drive towards a credible nuclear strike capability poses a thorny policy challenge for Trump, who is at loggerheads with Beijing over how to handle Kim Jong-Un’s regime.

Trump has repeatedly urged Pyongyang’s chief backer Beijing to rein the Stalinist state in, but Beijing insists dialogue is the only practical way forward.

There are still doubts whether the North can miniaturise a nuclear weapon to fit a missile nose cone, or if it has mastered the technology needed for it to survive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.

But since Kim came to power there have been advances including three nuclear tests and multiple rocket launches.

Reacting to Friday’s launch, UN spokesman Farhad Haq said it was “frustrating” that the Secretary General’s calls for all sides to de-escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula had gone unheeded.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2017