North Korea’s New Missile Has Potential to Reach Washington, Seoul Says

North Korea’s intercontinental ballistic missile launched on Wednesday, is potentially capable of striking targets as far as 8,100 miles and that would put Washington within reach, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a report. The ministry adds that Hwasong-15 is considerably larger than the previous missile and seems to confirm Pyongyang’s claim that it can deliver larger warheads.

According to Michael Elleman, analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, it looks like Hwasong-15 can deliver a 2,200 pound payload to any point on the United States mainland.

“North Korea, which has so far conducted six nuclear tests, has almost certainly developed a nuclear warhead that weighs less than 700 kilograms (1,543 pounds) , if not one considerably lighter,” Elleman wrote on the 38 North website .

On Wednesday North Korea launched, as it said, its greatest ICBM and said that it is capable of striking the whole mainland of the U.S. According to Pyongyang, the missile reached a height of 2,796 miles and traveled about 600 miles. According to David Wright, a U.S. physicist who has studied North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs, this would put any part of the U.S. within reach of a North Korean missile strike, Fox News reports. Meanwhile, Associated Press reported that it is not clear how close the missile is to being combat ready.

President Donald Trump and his Japanese counterpart, Moon Jae-in reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen pressure and sanctions on North Korea in a telephone call on Thursday night. The spokeswoman of South Korea’s Unification Ministry, Eugene Lee, stated that their government thinks that North Korea has not perfected its intercontinental missiles and because of that it has not crossed the red line in weapons development. After the launch South Korea said that the missile is a modified version of the Hwasong-14, but now Seoul’s military says that Hwasong-15 is bigger and potentially capable to carry bigger payloads.

“The Hwasong-15 is longer than the Hwasong-14 by 2 meters (6.56 feet) and also thicker, particularly its second stage, which is 80 centimeters (2.62 feet) wider than Hwasong-14′s second stage,” Seoul’s Defense Ministry stated.