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       SEOUL — North Korea fired a suspected intercontinental ballistic missile on Wednesday, after warning about “resolute” consequences for the U.S. military’s reconnaissance activities in the region.

       The missile, fired from the Pyongyang area, flew for 74 minutes before landing 620 miles away, splashing into waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. No damage was reported.

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       The flight time is the longest ever for a North Korean missile, local media quoted Japanese Defense Ministry officials as saying. U.S., Japanese and South Korean officials identified the missile as a suspected ICBM.

       The missile, which reached an altitude of nearly 3,730 miles, Japanese officials said, appears to be one of the farthest traveling ICBMs tested by Pyongyang to date. North Korea typically launches missiles on what officials and experts call a “lofted trajectory,” firing the missile almost straight up so as not to fly over the airspaces of neighboring countries.

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       LOFTED TRAJECTORIES

       To avoid other countries, North Korea launches test missiles at a much higher-than-normal trajectory — nearly straight up — so missiles come down

       in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

       CHINA

       JAPAN

       400 MILES

       MARCH 24, 2022

       3,850 miles

       JULY 12,

       2023

       MARCH 15, 2023

       3,728 miles

       70 minutes

       3,728 miles

       Flew for 74

       minutes

       NOV. 29, 2017

       2,796 miles

       JULY 28,

       2017

       2,300 miles

       JULY 4,

       2017

       1,740

       miles

       MAY 14,

       2017

       Int’l.

       Space

       Station

       orbit:

       250

       miles

       1,300

       miles

       SOUTH

       KOREA

       RUSSIA

       CHINA

       JAPAN

       Pacific

       Ocean

       Trajectories shown

       are approximate.

       Sources: CNS North Korea Missile Testing Database

       and Japan Ministry of Defense

       THE WASHINGTON POST

       MARCH 24, 2022

       3,850 miles

       LOFTED TRAJECTORIES

       JULY 12, 2023

       3,728 miles

       To avoid other countries, North Korea launches test missiles at a much higher-than-normal trajectory — nearly straight up — so missiles come down in the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

       Flew for 74 minutes

       MARCH 15, 2023

       3,728 miles

       Flew for 70 minutes

       NOV. 29, 2017

       2,796 miles

       CHINA

       JULY 28, 2017

       2,300 miles

       JAPAN

       JULY 4, 2017

       400 MILES

       1,740 miles

       MAY 14, 2017

       1,300 miles

       International Space

       Station orbit:

       250 miles

       SOUTH KOREA

       RUSSIA

       CHINA

       TAIWAN

       JAPAN

       Pacific

       Ocean

       —PHILIPPINES

       Trajectories shown

       are approximate.

       —Guam (U.S.)

       Sources: CNS North Korea Missile Testing Database and Japan Ministry of Defense

       THE WASHINGTON POST

       South Korean officials are now assessing whether the launch was the new solid-fuel ICBM, dubbed Hwasong-18, that North Korea tested in April, according to South Korean media reports.

       North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has long wanted solid-fuel propellants, which make the weapons more nimble and mobile compared to liquid-propelled missiles, thus making them more difficult for satellites to spot during launch preparations. Most countries with ICBMs maintain a mix of both types.

       North Korea claims new missile is a ‘breakthrough’ in weapons program

       The launch took place just as Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was finishing a trilateral meeting with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts in Hawaii.

       “This launch is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region,” the White House said in a statement condemning the launch.

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       The statement added that President Biden’s national security team was “assessing the situation” in coordination with U.S. allies.

       The biggest advancements in North Korea missile tech so far

       Wednesday’s launch comes after Pyongyang accused the United States of repeatedly flying spy planes into its airspace.

       Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister, said Monday that such reconnaissance flights near its territory would be met with “resolute” consequences and threatened to shoot down such aircraft. Washington and Seoul denied North Korea’s allegations.

       Earlier this week, North Korea’s Defense Ministry accused Washington of stoking tensions by planning to send a nuclear submarine to South Korea for the first time since 1981.

       South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in Lithuania attending the annual NATO summit, convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the missile launch. Yoon earlier said he planned to discuss North Korea’s weapons arsenal with NATO leaders.

       North Korea last month launched what it said was a spy satellite, which failed midflight. South Korea’s military retrieved the wreckage from the sea and concluded this month that it “did not have any military use as a reconnaissance satellite.”

       Lee reported from Washington. Alex Horton in Washington and Julia Mio Inuma in Tokyo contributed to this report.

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