North Korea claims to have successfully tested a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, topped with a "super-large heavy warhead," which is capable of striking the US mainland.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Mentally prepare yourself now for the idea that the United States will be forced to use military intervention to prevent a nuclear strike from North Korea. There is no amount or type of negotiations that will be able to resolve this. President Trump has no other option to stop Kim Jong Un than to force them to stop. When he does, expect a strong response from both Russia and China in favor of North Korea. Already Hawaii has reactivated nuclear fallout shelters and air raid warning systems for the first time in 25 years, with both Japan and South Korea actively preparing for war. The United States can easily defeat North Korea in battle, but fight them plus China and Russia? That would be a battle of Biblical proportions.
The country's state media made the announcement Wednesday, hours after leader Kim Jong Un ordered the 3 a.m. launch of the
Hwasong-15 missile, which reached the highest altitude ever recorded by a North Korean missile.
State news agency KCNA called its so-called new missile "the most powerful ICBM" and said it "meets the goal of the completion of the rocket weaponry system development. After the launch, Kim said North Korea had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force," according to KCNA.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis said earlier the missile launched demonstrated North Korea had the ability to hit "everywhere in the world."
The launch was the first since September, and came despite repeated warnings from President Donald Trump who told reporters at the White House after the launch that the US "will handle" the situation.
"We will take care of it," the President said.
The Hwasong-15 soared 4,475 kilometers (2,800 miles) in the sky, spending 53 minutes in the air, before splashing down in waters off the coast of Japan, North Korea said. The figures tallied with estimates released by Japan and South Korea.
Mattis, who was with Trump in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, outlined how much tougher that situation has become. The test missile, he said, went "higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken" and demonstrates that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un now has the ability to hit "everywhere in the world basically."
"The bottom line is, it's a continued effort to build a threat -- a ballistic missile threat that endangers world peace, regional peace and certainly the United States," Mattis concluded.
David Wright of the Union of Concerned Scientists said that if the missile hadn't been lofted into the sky and had flown on a standard trajectory, it would have been capable of traveling 13,000 kilometers, or 8,100 miles.
"Such a missile would have more than enough range to reach Washington, DC, and in fact any part of the continental United States," Wright said in a statement, though he noted that range probably wouldn't be possible if the missile were fitted with a heavy nuclear warhead.
The missile was launched from the west part of North Korea and is likely to have landed in Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone, according to Masaki Hikida, public relations officer at Japan's Ministry of Defense.
The flight time would suggest that this was a major ICBM test "possibly in operational settings" and should "disabuse US officials from thinking military displays, sanctions, or threats are deterring North Korean tests," according to Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists.
"Today's test proves that Pyongyang still feels able to test at will," he told CNN, adding it also shows the Trump administration "has to get serious about deterring an atmospheric nuclear test."
North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho had hinted in September that Pyongyang could carry out an atmospheric nuclear test over the Pacific Ocean, possibly by strapping a warhead atop a missile or dropping it from an airplane.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson strongly condemned the launch and called for redoubled international pressure on Pyongyang, saying that the US "remains committed to finding a peaceful path to denuclearization." But he added a lightly veiled warning about limited US patience.
"Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now," Tillerson said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that, "If we have to go to war to stop this, we will. If there's a war with North Korea it will be because North Korea brought it on itself, and we're headed to a war if things don't change."
On Wednesday, a North Korea official reiterated comments made to CNN in October that there would be no diplomacy until the country has proven its nuclear capabilities.
The official added the two steps needed to achieve this goal were the "testing of a long-range ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile)" capable of reaching the US, followed by an above-ground nuclear detonation.
"Before we can engage in diplomacy with the Trump administration, we want to send a clear message that the DPRK has a reliable defensive and offensive capability to counter any aggression from the United States," the official said, referring to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Prior to today's launch, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had warned of devastating consequences if the US takes military action against North Korea. Pyongyang can batter Seoul with a barrage of conventional weapons, putting millions of South Koreans and more than 28,000 US troops stationed there within range.
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