North Korea ballistic missile launch draws condemnation

It is believed the North Korea ballistic missile is a long-range ballistic missile fired at a high angle,

the Joint Chiefs of Staff had said in a statement

Around 7:11 a.m. today (2217 GMT Wednesday) North Korea launched at least one ICBM-class ballistic missile from an area near Pyongyang toward the northeast,

Japanese Defense Minister General Nakatani told reporters,

We've not yet seen these troops deploy into combat against Ukrainian forces, but we would expect that to happen in the coming days,

he said,

I think that the reaction to this is nothing; it has been zero,

Zelensky said

Russia actually provided new technology for reentering the atmosphere,

said Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies

We estimate that its flying altitude was the highest we have seen,

Japanese defence minister Gen Nakatani told reporters

The test-fire is an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security of our Republic recently, of our counteraction will,

Kim was quoted as saying by KCNA

North Korea will want to keep getting help like this, because it saves times and costs while improving performance and upgrading the stability of weapons system,

he said

Longer flight time means longer flight range,

said Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Seoul-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies

I affirm that the DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces,

Kim said, ... according to a North Korean Defense Ministry statement carried by state media

There's no reason for North Korea to develop another new ICBM when it already has several systems with ranges of up to 10,000 to 15,000 kilometres (6,200 to 9,300 miles) that could reach any location on Earth,

Kwon said

North Korea could have probably thought that its rivals could look down it after it gave away so much in military resources to Russia,

Yang Uk, an expert at South Korea's Asan Institute Institute for Policy Studies

We strongly urge (North Korea) to immediately cease its series of provocative and destabilizing actions that threaten peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and beyond,

they said