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South Korean and American authorities have confirmed that the missile that North Korea recently fired saying it was testing a reconnaissance satellite was actually an intercontinental ballistic missile.

The United States and President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol said they would make this a top priority for cooperation.



Correspondent Yunsoo Kim from Washington delivered this message.



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On the 27th and 5th of last month, North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles and claimed that it was a development test for a reconnaissance satellite.



However, South Korean and US military authorities said that a detailed analysis confirmed that the projectile was an ICBM, not an intercontinental ballistic missile, rather than a reconnaissance satellite.



It is said that it was an ICBM 'Hwasong-17' that was first unveiled during the military parade on the founding day of the Labor Party in October 2020.



At that time, the 'Hwasong-17' was mounted on a mobile launch vehicle with 22 wheels, and was called the 'monster ICBM' because it was the longest ICBM in the world with a height of 24 m, and a range of more than 13,000 km, capable of hitting even the mainland of the United States. I did.



The South Korean and US military authorities, however, analyzed that both times were short-range tests and that they appeared to be a preliminary test ahead of the launch of an ICBM with the maximum range.



[Paul Lacamera / Commander, USFK: The ICBM threat is real.

Chairman Kim Jong-un is trying to develop missile capabilities to destroy the U.S. military system and threaten the security of the Korean Peninsula and the region.]



The United States has warned of additional sanctions to block North Korea's weapons program, calling it a violation of UN Security Council resolutions.



He also expressed his intention to make this issue a top priority for cooperation with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol.

[Ned Price / US State Department Spokesperson: From the Indo-Pacific perspective



, the top priority for cooperation (with President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol) is the threat posed by North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missiles.]



Evaluating that the president-elect's North Korea policy is promising, he expressed expectations for cooperation with North Korea.



(Video coverage: Park Eun-ha, Video editing: Lee Seung-jin)