North Korea completes its most powerful missile launch yet – as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warns they can hit ‘everywhere in the world’

North Korea completes its most powerful missile launch yet – as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warns they can hit ‘everywhere in the world’

• North Korea fired off it latest intercontinental ballistic missile on Tuesday
• It abruptly ended North Korea’s 10-week pause in its weapons testing
• President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to ‘handle the situation’ after launch
• Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned that North Korea has the ability to hit ‘everywhere in the world’
• He said latest missile went higher than any previous shot North Korea has taken 
• Mattis said South Korea responded by firing pinpoint missiles out into the water
• Missile traveled 620 miles and landed within 200 nautical miles of Japan’s coast 
• Physicist calculates that missile tested had realistic range of just over 8,000 miles, puting Washington D.C., Europe and Australia in range

By David Martosko, US Political Editor and Chris Pleasance For Dailymail.com

The missile was launched eastward from Pyongsong in North Korea’s South Pyongan Province at around 3:30 a.m  local time before landing in the Sea of Japan

‘A lot of things have happened, even over the last two hours, with respect to the missile launch. We want our military funded, and we want it funded now,’ he said.

Empty chairs flanked the president, representing Democratic congressional leaders Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who boycotted what was expected to be a robust negotiation on spending.

The missile was launched eastward from Pyongsong in North Korea’s South Pyongan Province in the middle of the night local time, according to a statement issued by the South Korean Military’s joint chiefs of staff.

Pentagon Spokesman Col. Robert Manning said in a statement that the launch, at about 1:17 p.m., was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), according to the Defense Department’s initial analysis.

‘The missile was launched from Sain Ni, North Korea, and traveled about 1000 km before splashing down in the Sea of Japan, within Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone,’ Maness said.

The missile launch was dictator Kim Jong-Un’s first such provocation since September 15
+10

The missile launch was dictator Kim Jong-Un’s first such provocation since September 15

‘The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launch from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies,’ he added.

South Korea and the U.S. worked together to determine the missile’s trajectory and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered an emergency cabinet meeting.

Officials in Seoul said a rocket-tracking radar was turned on at a missile base in the North of the region yesterday followed by a large amount of radio chatter, the Yonhap news agency reported.

Tokyo and Washington were also placed on alert after radio signals were picked up, with one Japanese official telling the Kyodo news agency that a test could take place ‘within the next few days.’

Cho Myoung-gyon, South Korea’s unification minister, confirmed the activity at an event in Seoul today as he warned that Kim might complete his nuclear program much sooner than previously thought.
Trump was flanked by empty chairs on Tuesday afternoon, trolling Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, two key congressional Democrats who refused to negotiate on spending with him

Trump was flanked by empty chairs on Tuesday afternoon, trolling Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi, two key congressional Democrats who refused to negotiate on spending with him

Cho said there had been ‘noteworthy activity in the North recently’, but said the world would have to ‘wait and see whether it leads to an actual missile test’.

Speaking about Kim’s efforts to develop a viable long-range nuclear weapon, he added: ‘Experts think North Korea will take two to three more years but they are developing their nuclear capabilities faster than expected.

‘We cannot rule out the possibility Pyongyang may declare the completion of their nuclear program in a year.’

Japan said the latest signals from North Korea might have come to nothing, saying they could have been from military exercises which the North routinely carries out each winter.

Cho said the frequency of North Korean activity tends to decline noticeably during the winter.

‘If it launched a provocation, North Korea has to put its military on alert, but most of its troops are needed for manual labour for preparation of winter,’ he said.

Other reasons behind the lull could be that Pyongyang simply needs more time to advance its missile programme such as perfecting its re-entry technology, Cho said, or the North Korean leader could be focusing on boosting the economy.

Kim has already carried out a record 15 missile tests this year, including two which were fired over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

The tests also confirmed that North Korea has developed a functioning ICBM, a key step toward creating a nuke that can strike mainland America.

News of another launch would come as a blow to North Korea’s opponents who had hoped that increased sanctions were at least slowing the country’s progress.

After a flurry of missile tests over the summer, Kim last fired a weapon on September 15, despite widely-anticipated launches in October around Labor Day in the US and the Chinese 19th Party Congress.