North Korea fires suspected ICBM and 2 other missiles

North Korea testlaunched a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile and two shorterrange weapons into the sea Wednesday South Korea said hours after President Joe Biden ended a trip to Asia where he reaffirmed the US commitment to defend its allies in the face of the Northrsquos nuclear threatIf confirmed it would be North Korearsquos first ICBM launch in about two months amid stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States Breaking its 2018 moratorium on longdistance launches North Korea in March claimed to have testlaunched its longestrange missile as part of its development of functioning nucleararmed missiles that can reach the American homelandThe launches took place as North Korea made a muchdisputed claim that its first domestic Covid19 outbreak was weakeningAfter an emergency national security council meeting the South Korean government said North Korea fired a suspected ICBM and two shortrange ballistic missilesldquoNorth Korearsquos sustained provocations can only result in stronger and faster South KoreaUS combined deterrence and can only deepen North Korearsquos international isolationrdquo the South Korean government statement said ldquoOur government is maintaining constant readiness to strongly and effectively respond to any kind of North Korean provocationrdquoSouth Korearsquos military said the suspected ICBM reached a maximum height of 540 kilometers 335 miles while traveling 360 kilometers 223 miles east after being fired from the Northrsquos capital region The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North apparently lost the second missile 20 kilometers 12 miles into flight while the third missile flew 760 kilometers 472 miles on an apogee of 60 kilometers 37 milesA JCS statement said the US and South Korean militaries fired two surfacetosurface missiles in response to demonstrate the alliesrsquo striking capabilities It said the allies had detected North Korearsquos preparations for the launches in advance It said South Korearsquos air force on Tuesday conducted an ldquoelephant walkrdquo involving 30 fully armed F15K fighter jets parading along a runway in formationThe US IndoPacific Command earlier said the missile launches highlight ldquothe destabilizing impact of North Korearsquos illicit weapons programrdquo though they didnrsquot pose an immediate threat to US territory and its allies A command statement said the US commitment to the defense of the South Korea and Japan ldquoremains ironcladrdquoThe White House said Biden has been briefed on the North Korean missile launches and will continue to be briefed as information developsJapanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the launches were ldquoan act of provocation and absolutely impermissiblerdquo He accused North Korea of pressing ahead with its weapons development program while ldquoignoring the peoplersquos suffering amid the spread of the coronavirus in the countryrdquoThe launches were North Korearsquos 17th round of missile firings this year Experts have said the launches show North Korearsquos determination to move ahead with its push to modernize its weapons arsenals despite the Covid19 outbreak and apply more pressure on its rivals to wrest sanctions relief and other concessions amid dormant nuclear diplomacyUS South Korean and Japanese officials have said North Korea could soon conduct its first nuclear test in nearly five years as wellldquoIf omicron is raging in the country it is not the best time for Kim to take domestic political credit for a nuclear testrdquo said LeifEric Easley a professor at Ewha University in Seoul ldquoSo declaring victory against COVID at least in state propaganda will probably come first But North Korea is likely to conduct its seventh nuclear test before reengaging in diplomacyrdquoNorth Korearsquos unusual pace in weapons tests this year included an ICBM launch in March that was its first since 2017 North Korea described that launch as a demonstration of its biggest missile the Hwasong17 However South Korearsquos military said the North instead may have fired a smaller ICBM Whichever it was the missile flew longer and higher than any other weapon the North has ever tested and had the potential range to reach the entire US mainland experts sayAfter their summit in Seoul on Saturday Biden and Yoon said they would consider expanded military exercises to deter North Korean nuclear threatsBiden brushed aside questions about any possible provocation by North Korea during his trip saying ldquoWe are prepared for anything North Korea doesrdquo Asked if he had a message for the Northrsquos leader Kim Jong Un Biden offered a clipped response ldquoHello PeriodrdquoBiden later met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo and they vowed to work closely to address security challenges including North Korearsquos nuclear and ballistic programs and what they called Chinarsquos ldquoincreasingly coerciverdquo behavior in the regionBefore Wednesday North Korearsquos most recent missile tests were May 12 hours after the country acknowledged a Covid19 outbreak and ended a widely disputed claim to have been coronavirusfree for more than two yearsThe country in the past few days has said there has been ldquoa positive signrdquo in its antivirus campaign Since admitting to the outbreak North Korea has identified about 3 million cases of an unidentified fever and saying just a small fraction were Covid19On Wednesday state media for the second straight day reported no additional fatality from the fever The 68 deaths it has reported is an extremely low toll for Covid19 Experts doubt the figures given North Korea has limited health resources and may be underreporting mortalities to prevent possible political damage on KimNorth Korea has so far ignored South Korean and US offers to send vaccines medicines and other support items Much of North Korearsquos 26 million people remain unvaccinated and the countryrsquos oncefree socialist public health care system has been in shambles for decadesldquoAt a time when North Korean people are suffering the pain of a Covid19 spread North Korea is using its crucial resources to develop nuclear weapons and missiles instead of measures to fight the virus and improve livelihoods which is very regrettablerdquo South Korean Foreign Minster Park Jin saidAssociated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from TokyoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever