The Great Smoky Mountain Journal

Staff, Wire Reports

Posted: Sunday, January 21, 2018 07:24 PM

North Korea Fires Intercontinental Ballistic Missle Into Waters Off Japan

North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) around 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the first such launch from the rogue regime in more than two months, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News.

The missile, believed to be an ICBM by the Pentagon based on initial assessments, was launched from Sain Ni in North Korea and flew roughly 620 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, which first reported the launch, said the missile launch happened around 3 a.m. local time in North Korea. South Korea’s military had reportedly staged a “precision strike” missile exercise in response.

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North Korea has been working hard to perfect “re-entry” technology to one day have a warhead be able to survive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

It was determined by the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) that the missile "did not pose a threat to North America, our territories or our allies," Pentagon spokesman Col. Robert Manning III told Fox News.

Manning, in an earlier statement, said: "We are in the process of assessing the situation, and we will be providing additional details when available.”

The ICBM flew nearly 2,800 miles into space, according to Yonhap. NASA's International Space Station only orbits the Earth from 250 miles into space.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders tweeted President Trump was briefed on the North Korean missile launch "while it was still in the air.”