On January 15, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced that North Korea successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) on the afternoon of January 14.
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| Image of North Korea's missile launch on January 14. |
According to KCNA , the missile carrying a hypersonic warhead was launched to check the controllability and flight stability of the warhead as well as the reliability of the missile's solid-fuel engine. The launch was part of regular activities to develop powerful weapon systems.
“The test did not pose any impact on the safety of our neighboring countries and had nothing to do with the regional security situation,” KCNA said in a statement.
On January 14, the South Korean military announced that they detected the launch from an area in or around Pyongyang at around 2:55 p.m. (local time) and the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers before crashing into the sea.
This is North Korea's first missile launch since launching the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on December 18.
In response to North Korea's latest move, a US State Department spokesman stated: "Washington condemns the ballistic missile launch on January 14."
The US said the launch, similar to Pyongyang's other ballistic missile launches in recent years, violated multiple UN Security Council resolutions, posed a threat to North Korea's neighbors and undermined regional security. It stressed Washington's "ironclad" security commitment to South Korea and Japan.
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