<Anchor>



North Korea's firing of a long-range ballistic missile today (24th) has a different meaning from the recent missile provocation, so we are giving it in detail as a special 8 o'clock news.

From now on, we will take a closer look at the local reaction by connecting the United States, China, and Japan in turn.

First, let's connect the Washington correspondent.



Correspondent Yunsoo Kim, President Biden is currently in Europe due to the Ukraine crisis. Has there been any official reaction? 



<Reporter>



A little while ago, the White House and the Indo-Pacific Command issued a statement stating that they strongly condemn North Korea's ICBM test launch.



President Biden, who has been to Europe for the first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, attended a NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium, about two hours ago.



The European Union and the 7 major summits are also scheduled for today.



North Korea fired an ICBM-class missile at a time when the US's attention was focused entirely on the Ukraine crisis, and it seems to be aimed at maximizing the effect of the armed protests by targeting the time when the leaders of the US and its allies gather.



It is expected that these three summits will discuss countermeasures against North Korean provocations along with the Ukraine crisis.



<Anchor>



If the final conclusion is made with ICBM, it could lead to sanctions from the international community. What kind of sanctions are expected? 



<Reporter>



After North Korea's new ICBM performance tests on the 27th and 5th of last month, the US imposed additional sanctions on Russian companies that helped develop North Korean missiles.



This time, it is highly likely that the strength of the reader sanctions will be a little higher.



The problem is with the United Nations. First, if you look at the existing Security Council resolutions, if North Korea fires an ICBM, sanctions on oil supply to North Korea are to be automatically strengthened.



It is a very painful sanctions for North Korea, but this also requires a separate Security Council resolution.



It is impossible if the permanent members exercise their veto power, but China and Russia are permanent members.



Considering Russia's extreme confrontation with the United States over the Ukraine crisis, and the deteriorating US-China relations, there are many views as to whether Security Council sanctions are possible.



North Korea also seems to have an intention to secure a lever to increase its negotiating power with the US in the future by pushing forward with strengthening its national defense power while provoking openly because it is well aware of this situation.



(Video coverage: Park Eun-ha, video editing: Choi Hye-young)