North Korea can now hit Alaska with intercontinental ballistic missile, latest test suggests
Seoul — North Korea said on Tuesday it had successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, which flew a trajectory that experts said could allow a weapon to hit the US state of Alaska. The launch comes days before leaders from the Group of 20 nations are due to discuss steps to rein in North Korea’s weapons programme, which it has pursued in defiance of United Nations Security Council sanctions. The launch, which North Korea’s state media said was ordered and supervised by leader Kim Jong-un, sent the rocket 933km, reaching an altitude of 2,802km over a flight time of 39 minutes. North Korea has said it wants to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead capable of striking the US mainland. Some analysts said the flight details on Tuesday suggested the new missile had a range of more than 8,000km, underscoring major advances in its programme. Other analysts said they believed its range was not so far. Officials from South Korea, Japan and t...
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