North Korea Claims Progress on Long-Range Goal With Missile Test
North Korea later said it could flight-test one "anytime, anywhere." When he visited South Korea this month on his first official trip abroad, Jim Mattis, the United States
defense secretary, emphasized the importance of deploying an advanced missile defense system, known as Thaad, in the country this year to counter the North Korean threat.
13, 2017
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said on Monday that it had successfully tested a new nuclear-capable intermediate-range ballistic
missile, claiming important progress in being able to strike its enemies with long-range missiles tipped with nuclear warheads.
Confirming the missile test detected by the United States
and South Korean authorities on Sunday, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said it had launched an intermediate-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile named Pukguksong-2, or Polaris-2.
On Sunday, the South Korean military said the North Korean missile was launched from the northwestern town of Banghyon
and flew 310 miles before landing in the sea between the North and Japan.
On Monday, North Korea said it launched its Pukguksong-2 at a sharp angle to keep it from landing too close to Japan, indicating
that it could have flown further than 310 miles if it had launched it at a normal angle.
After several failed attempts, the North said in August
that it had successfully launched the SLBM, claiming that the continental United States, as well as American military bases in the Pacific, were now within the range of its missiles, an assertion that military experts questioned.