North Korea fired three missiles on Wednesday (May 25). The tests allegedly included one of its largest intercontinental ballistic missiles. In the aftermath, the United States intelligence is assessing whether North Korea tested a ballistic missile with properties that the US has not seen before earlier this week, CNN reported citing three US officials. The US and South Korea have said that North Korea tested three rockets, including an intercontinental ballistic missile. The report suggested that North Korea could be preparing for its first nuclear test since 2017. The US also forced a vote at the Security Council on toughening sanctions on North Korea.
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As per the CNN report, out of the three missiles that were allegedly fired, one flew an unusual trajectory. The officials noted that the missile’s flight path had a “double arc” with the missile ascending and then descending twice, the media outlet stated.
According to two of the officials, as quoted by CNN, such an unusual trajectory suggests that North Korea might have been testing the ability to fire a missile and then make it re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere to reach a target.
A joint statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday noted: “The United States, the ROK, and Japan express deep concern about the May 25 DPRK launches of an intercontinental ballistic missile and shorter-range ballistic missiles.”
“The DPRK has significantly increased the pace and scale of its ballistic missile launches since September 2021. Each of these launches violated multiple UNSC resolutions and posed a grave threat to the region and the international community,” it added.
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Meanwhile, the US on Friday (May 27) imposed sanctions on two Russian banks, a North Korean company and a person it accused of supporting North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction program.
The move came a day after China and Russia vetoed a US-led push to impose more United Nations sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile launches.
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