Japan says North Korea’s missiles could theoretically reach the US mainland

(CNN) — In theory, the US could be included in the range of North Korea’s latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which was tested on Friday, depending on the weight of the attached warhead, among other factors, Japan’s Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said. It is a statement.

“The ICBM-class ballistic missile launched this time has a range of more than 15,000 kilometers when calculated based on the flight distance of this ICBM,” Hamada said on Friday. “It depends on the weight of the warship, but if so, the continental US will be included in the range.”

However, this is not the first time that experts and officials have estimated that an ICBM tested by North Korea could theoretically reach the US mainland. An ICBM launched in March this year and another in 2017 are believed to have theoretically reached the continental United States.

The missile, launched in 2017, proved North Korea had the ability to strike “anywhere in the world,” said then-US Defense Secretary James Mattis.

Japan’s Defense Ministry also released more details about the launch on Friday. Details are still being worked out, but the missile, launched from North Korea, is believed to have flown for about 69 minutes before landing in the Sea of ​​Japan about 200 km west of Oshima Oshima Island in Hokkaido at around 9:11 p.m. 23 am local time. (11:00 p.m. ET).

Japan’s defense ministry said Friday’s missile was estimated to have a flight distance of about 1,000 km and a maximum altitude of about 6,000 km.

After North Korea launched an ICBM-class ballistic missile from the outskirts of Pyongyang at 10:14 a.m. local time on Friday, the Japanese Defense Ministry said it had dispatched F-15, U-125A and P-3Ｃ.

“During its mission, the F-15 confirmed in the air what was associated with the launched ballistic missile,” Japan’s defense ministry said.