North Korea conducted the longest test of an intercontinental ballistic missile

North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday, October 31.

This is reported by the official Korean Central Telegraph Agency (KCTA).

Yonhap writes that the North Korean missile was launched at 07:10 am local time from the Pyongyang area towards the Sea of Japan. The Reuters agency, citing the statements of the Japanese authorities, writes that the missile fell into the sea 200 kilometers west of the Japanese island of Hokkaido 87 minutes after launch. The rocket reached an altitude of 7 000 kilometers, and the flight range was 1 000 kilometers.

North Korean authorities say todayʼs intercontinental ballistic missile test was the longest ever. In a statement, the KCTA said that the test launch "set a record for the power of a strategic missile."

At the same time, the launch of the missile was condemned by the authorities of South Korea, Japan and the USA.

North Korea launched the missile hours after the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his South Korean counterpart Kim Yonghyun met in Washington to discuss the involvement of North Korean troops on the side of Russia in the war against Ukraine.

• North Koreaʼs last intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, was tested in December 2023. Then the flight lasted 73 minutes. Its range can reach approximately 15 thousand kilometers. This is the distance within which any part of the US mainland is accessible.

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