Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear-weapons program took a leap forward Tuesday when an ICBM flew high enough to theoretically strike the entire United States.
By David Axe
North Korea test-launched
what the Pentagon said was an intercontinental ballistic missile on
Tuesday, which experts assessed is capable of reaching the entire United
States.
It’s a sign that Kim Jong Un’s program to develop a nuclear weapon capable of striking targets in the U.S.
has accelerated. Initial assessments indicate the missile could be the
farthest-flying that Pyongyang has ever tested. The test also occurred
at night in North Korea, a not insignificant development for a country
striving to achieve a round-the-clock nuclear deterrent.
The
Pentagon detected the launch at around 1:17 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
and said the missile traveled 600 miles before splashing down in the Sea
of Japan no more than 200 miles from the Japanese coast.
“We are working with our interagency partners on a more detailed assessment of the launch,” a Pentagon spokesperson said.
The
Tuesday rocket test apparently involved a Hwasong-14 rocket with two
stages. The rocket was reportedly aloft for 54 minutes, a new record for
Pyongyang. Missiles previously the North Koreans tested on July 4 and
July 28 flew for just 37 minutes and 47 minutes, respectively.
David Wright, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists in Massachusetts, crunched the observable data from the launch and concluded that the rocket reached a maximum altitude of 2,800 miles.
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Source: The Daily Beast
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