Key Takeaways
- The Hwasong‑18 intercontinental ballistic missile traveled over 1,000 km, marking a record for North Korea.
- The missile landed within the Russian Federation’s Exclusive Economic Zone, raising regional security concerns.
- The UN highlighted a lack of consensus among Security Council members regarding the incident.
United Nations: The United Nations says that the missile fired by North Korea on Wednesday landed within the Russian Federation’s Exclusive Economic Zone and was possibly the longest ballistic missile launch, the UN Assistant Secretary-General, Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations Khaled Khiari said on Thursday.
“The missile was launched on a lofted trajectory from the Pyongyang area at 10:00 am local time and reportedly flew for 1,001.2 km and to an altitude of 6,648.4 km before falling into the sea, inside the Russian Federation’s Exclusive Economic Zone. The flight was reportedly around 74 minutes, potentially making it the DPRK’s longest ballistic missile flight duration,” Khiari told Security Council members.
North Korea increased its missile launch activities in 2022-2023, firing more than 90 launches using ballistic missile technology, he added.
The UN official was also concerned over the lack of unity within the UN Security Council.
KCNA also confirmed Pyongyang test-fired the new-type Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, which reached a maximum altitude of 6,648.4 kilometers (4,131 miles) and flew a distance of 1,001.2 kilometers for 4,491 seconds.
