North Korea Tests Suspected IRBM into the East Sea

The testing of an IRBM is sending a message to the US and Japan that bases in both countries can be targeted with this missile:

North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) into the East Sea on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, in Pyongyang’s first missile launch this year amid heightened tensions over its continued saber-rattling.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch from an area in or around Pyongyang at about 2:55 p.m. and the missile flew around 1,000 kilometers before splashing into the sea.

The JCS strongly condemned the launch, calling it a “clear provocative act,” adding that it shared data on the North Korean missile with U.S. and Japanese authorities, with an analysis on its specifications under way.

Yonhap

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