North Korea said it tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday morning, a launch that would have achieved the longest flight duration ever for a North Korean missile.

The new “advanced” Hwasong-19 missile was launched just days before Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election, and after warnings from South Korean intelligence that Pyongyang was planning to launch an ICBM to test its re-entry technology. time of voting.

The test also comes as North Korea appears to have stepped up its nuclear production efforts and strengthened ties with Russia, reinforcing widespread concern in the West about the direction the isolated nation is taking.

North Korea said Friday that the new Hwasong-19 missile reached a maximum altitude of 7,688 kilometers (4,777 miles) and traveled a distance of 1,001 kilometers (622 miles).

“The test of the latest strategic weapons system… demonstrated the modernity and credibility of the world’s most powerful strategic deterrent,” state news outlet KCNA said in a commentary.

Japanese authorities said the missile flew for about 86 minutes and up to a possible altitude of 7,000 kilometers (4,350 miles), before falling into the sea west of Okushiri Island, South Korea. northern Hokkaido, around 8:37 a.m., outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to public broadcaster NHK. said.

“The flight time was the longest ever recorded. Perhaps the newest missile ever designed,” said Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile was fired at a “high angle”, meaning it flew almost vertically upwards rather than outwards, and traveled a distance of 1,000 kilometers (620 miles).

JCS spokesperson Lee Sung-joon said it could be a “new type of long-range solid-propelled ballistic missile” fired from a 12-axis mobile launcher (TEL), revealed by Pyongyang last month.

Solid-fuel missiles, like North Korea’s Hwasong-18, would allow Pyongyang to launch long-range nuclear strikes more quickly than with missiles using liquid-fuel technology.

Solid-fueled ICBMs are more stable and can be moved more easily to avoid detection before a launch that can be launched in minutes, experts say – compared to liquid-fueled missiles which can require hours before launch , which gives opponents time. to detect and neutralize the weapon.

State media published photos of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter at the launch site as well as multiple photos of the missile along its route.

Joseph Dempsey, a research analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said images released by North Korea showed the latest missile was “externally similar in design to that of the Hwasong-18.”

“But when it comes to a solid road-mobile cold-launched ICBM, there is a form-follows-function component, so (we) wouldn’t expect too much variation in terms of overall design.” , he told CNN.

This appears to be North Korea’s first launch of an ICBM since its launch. Hwasong-18 missile test in December 2023. It also launched the weapon in April and July last year.

During the December test, Japanese authorities said the missile flew on a very high trajectory for about 73 minutes and at an altitude of 6,000 kilometers (3,700 miles).

The missile in Thursday’s test flew higher than North Korea’s previous ICBM test, according to an initial analysis by the South Korean military.

Even if the missile had enough range to strike anywhere in the United States, it would need to be fired on a flatter trajectory to reach the country.

The White House on Thursday condemned the test, calling it a “blatant violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions.” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said the launch “unnecessarily increases tensions” in the region and that the United States would “take all necessary measures to ensure the security of the American homeland, Republic of Korea and its Japanese allies.

In response to the missile test, South Korea and the United States held a large-scale joint air exercise involving some 110 aircraft simulating “a precise strike from enemy TEL,” Seoul’s Defense Ministry said .

“Our military will always remain ready and capable of responding massively to any provocation from North Korea,” the ministry said.

Nuclear weapons technology and ties to Russia

Speaking at the launch site, Kim said his country “will never change its line of strengthening its nuclear forces,” KCNA reported Thursday.

In addition to an ICBM test, South Korea’s military intelligence agency also warned that North Korea could soon conduct its seventh nuclear test.

On Wednesday, the agency said Pyongyang had completed preparations for such a test at its Punggye-ri test site, and that the test could take place around the time of the U.S. election, according to two lawmakers briefed in a meeting regular parliamentarian.

Since carrying out its first nuclear test more than a decade ago, North Korea has improved its military capabilities, with ambitions to miniaturize a warhead so it can fit a long-range missile .

The launch comes after U.S. and South Korean officials said thousands of North Korean troops were training in Russia, hoping they would be prepared for a possible transfer to the country’s front lines. Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

About 10,000 North Korean soldiers are receiving military training in eastern Russia, the Pentagon said Monday. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that some troops had moved closer to Ukraine, received Russian military uniforms and were using Russian equipment.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong Hyun said North Korea would “most likely” request advanced nuclear weapons-related technologies from Moscow in exchange for deploying troops to help Russia.

Pyongyang will likely ask Russia for technology transfers related to tactical nuclear weapons, the development of North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missiles, reconnaissance satellites and nuclear submarines, the minister said.

CNN’s Brad Lendon and Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting.

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