Wong Maye-E, Associated Press file
In this April 13, 2017 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, is accompanied by Pak Pong Ju, right, Hwang Pyong So, second left, as he arrives for the official opening of the Ryomyong residential area, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Pyongyang will seek the extradition of anyone involved in what it says was a CIA-backed plot to kill leader Kim Jung Un April, 2017, with a biochemical poison, a top North Korean foreign ministry official said Thursday, May 11, 2017. Getting your player ready...
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is claiming to have test-launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile.
This appears to contradict South Korean and U.S. officials who earlier said Tuesday’s launch was of an intermediate-range missile.
The North has previously conducted satellite launches that critics say were disguised tests of its long-range missile technology. But a test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, if confirmed, would be considered a game-changer by countries looking to check North Korea’s push for a nuclear-armed missile that can reach anywhere in the United States.
The test still may be the North’s most successful yet; a weapon analyst says missile could be powerful enough to reach Alaska.
