In a new missile test, North Korea on Friday fired an ICBM that Tokyo says could potentially reach the United States. According to information received from Tokyo, the projectile fell into the sea west of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. The United States and its allies condemned the missile test “in the strongest terms”. Moscow, on the other hand, held Washington responsible for North Korea’s actions.

The South Korean General Staff said the long-range missile was launched into the sea from the Sunan region on Friday morning (local time) and flew 1,000 km wide and 6,100 km high – slightly longer than the long-range missile launched on March 24. low. North Korea’s most powerful test ever

Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said that calculations showed that “this time the ballistic missile could have a range of 15,000 kilometers.” This would have put the US mainland within range of the missile.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the rocket launch as “absolutely irresponsible”. Tokyo has lodged a protest with the government in Pyongyang. North Korea is repeating “provocative actions with unprecedented frequency,” Kishida said. South Korean Prime Minister Han Dak Su called the missile test a “major provocation” that violated United Nations Security Council resolutions. The international community should react strongly to this “brazen act”.

US Vice President Kamala Harris held an emergency meeting with representatives of Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Canada on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Summit in Bangkok. “We condemn these actions in the strongest terms,” ​​Harris said at the start of the meeting.

The White House then issued a statement saying that the six countries threatened a “strong and decisive response” in the event of a North Korean nuclear test. At the same time, he affirmed that “the path of dialogue” remains open. The country should avoid “unnecessary provocations” and “return to serious and sustained diplomacy”.

North Korea ramped up its missile tests following joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States. US President Joe Biden discussed North Korea with Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines of the Southeast Asia Summit in Cambodia on Sunday. Together they warned the country about the consequences of conducting a nuclear test.

On Monday, Biden also discussed North Korea with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Biden then said he was “confident” that Beijing did not want North Korea to escalate the conflict. The US government believes the key to changing Pyongyang’s mind lies with China, the country’s most important ally.

Allegations from Russia to America

North Korea’s second ally Russia on Friday accused the US of testing North Korea’s patience. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti that Russia preferred a diplomatic approach, adding that “recently it has become especially clear that the United States and its allies in the region prefer a different path.” “

North Korea fired another short-range missile on Wednesday. Pyongyang has previously threatened that the more Washington expands its security partnership with Tokyo and Seoul, “the more violent the military response to North Korea will be.”

Washington and Seoul have been warning for months that North Korea could conduct a nuclear weapons test in the near future. This will be the first such test after 2017. North Korea has conducted six nuclear weapons tests since 2006.