N. Korean missile tested Sunday could carry heavy nuclear warhead

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea

North Korean officials have announced that the missile launched over the weekend was a new type of long-range ballistic rocket that can carry a heavy nuclear warhead.

North Korean propaganda must be considered with wariness, but if confirmed, the claim marks another big step forward in the country's escalating efforts to field a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Outside experts don't believe the North can do that yet, but each new test pushes them closer to the goal.

The launch Sunday is an immediate challenge to South Korea's new leader, a liberal elected just five days earlier who expressed a desire to reach out to North Korea. The country's push to boost its weapons program also makes it one of the Trump administration's most urgent foreign policy worries.

The missile flew for half an hour and reached an unusually high altitude before landing in the Sea of Japan, the South Korean, Japanese and U.S. militaries said. Tokyo said the flight pattern could indicate a new type of missile.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency called the missile a "new ground-to-ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12" that's "capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead." Leader Kim Jong Un was said to have witnessed the test and "hugged officials in the field of rocket research, saying that they worked hard to achieve a great thing," according to KCNA.

The launch jeopardizes new South Korean President Moon Jae-in's willingness to talk to the North, and came as U.S., Japanese and European navies gather for joint war games in the Pacific.