SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea test-launched a suspected long-range missile designed to strike the continental U.S. on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, as a U.
S. official warned that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea’s capital region around 7:10 a.
m. on Thursday. It said the weapon was launched on a high angle and it was suspected of being a long-range ballistic missile.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea’s military has boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the North Korean launch with the U.S. and Japanese authorities.
If confirmed, it’s North Korea’s first test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile since December 2023, when it launched the solid-fueled Hwasong-18 ICBM. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and hide, and can be launched quicker than liquid-propellant weapons. South Korea’s military intelligence agency told lawmakers Wednesday that North Korea was close to test-firing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and has also likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.
Since 2022, North Korea has sharply increased the pace of its weapons tests to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles targeting South Korea and the United States. Thursday's launch was North Korea’s first known ballistic te.