List of North Korean missile tests

There have been a number of North Korean missile tests. North Korea has also fired a number of short-range missiles into the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea), apparently as political gestures.[1][2][3][4]

Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4 Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3 Unit 2 2006 North Korean missile test 1993 North Korean missile test

On February 7, 2016, roughly a month after an alleged hydrogen bomb test, North Korea claimed to have put a satellite into orbit around the Earth. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe had warned the North to not launch the rocket, and if it did and the rocket violated Japanese territory, it would be shot down. Nevertheless, North Korea launched the rocket anyway, claiming the satellite was purely intended for peaceful, scientific purposes. Several nations, including the United States, Japan, and South Korea, have criticized the launch, and despite North Korean claims that the rocket was for peaceful purposes, it has been heavily criticized as an attempt to perform an ICBM test under the guise of a peaceful satellite launch. China also criticized the launch, however urged "the relevant parties" to "refrain from taking actions that may further escalate tensions on the Korean peninsula".[7]

While some North Korean pronouncements have been treated with skepticism and ridicule, analysts are treating the unusual pace of North Korean rocket and nuclear testing in early 2016 quite seriously. At an extreme, Admiral Bill Gortney, head of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told Congress in March 2016, "It's the prudent decision on my part to assume that [Kim Jong Un] has the capability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon and put it on an ICBM," suggesting a major shift from a few years earlier.[8]

North Korea appeared to launch a missile test from a submarine on 23 April 2016; while the missile only traveled 30 km, one U.S. analyst noted that "North Korea's sub launch capability has gone from a joke to something very serious".[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "North Korea launches short-range missiles". CNN. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  2. ↑ "S. Korea Says North Launches Short-Range Missiles". NY Times. Retrieved 18 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "North Korea fires projectile into waters off eastern coast". Fox News. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  4. ↑ "North Korea fires sixth missile in three days". Reuters. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  5. ↑ "North Korea test-fires 'ballistic' missiles". BBC. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "North Korea 'tests long-range missile engine'". BBC. Apr 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ "North Korea fires long-range rocket despite warnings". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-02-08.
  8. ↑ "Why Analysts Aren't Laughing At These Silly North Korean Photos". NPR. Mar 21, 2016.
  9. ↑ Don Melvin; Jim Sciutto (23 April 2016). "North Korea launches missile from submarine". CNN. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
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