SEOUL: North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) off its east coast on Wednesday, prompting condemnations from leaders of South Korea and Japan who met on the sidelines of a Nato summit.

The launch came after heated complaints from North Korea in recent days, accusing American spy planes of violating airspace in its economic zones, condemning a recent visit to South Korea by an American nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine, and promising to take steps in reaction.

The ICBM flew for 74 minutes to an altitude of 6,000 km and range of 1,000 km, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, in what would be the longest ever flight time for a North Korean missile.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, convened an emergency national security council meeting to discuss the launch and vowed to use the summit to call for strong international solidarity to confront such threats.

Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held separate talks and strongly condemned the launch as a grave violation of multiple UN resolutions and a serious provocation that escalates tension.

The White House condemned North Korea’s firing of ballistic missile, and said it would take all necessary measures to ensure its security and that of South Korea and Japan.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2023