US detects North Korean intercontinental missile before launch

US reconnaissance aircraft in Japan detected the ICBM from the time it was fueled and monitored the entire North Korean launch.

Journey of the Hwasong-14 missile.

Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis said on July 5 that a US RC-135S reconnaissance aircraft stationed at Yokota base, Japan, detected the missile.North Korea's Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) right from the fueling stageand closely monitor the entire launch process,according toFox News.

According to Davis, Hwasong-14was towed to the launch site by truck but fired from a ground-based launcher on July 4. This shows that North Korea does not yet have the ability to launch ICBMs from mobile launchers, which are difficult to track and intercept, and could pose a significant threat to the US and its allies.

The missile flew for 39 minutes, the longest flight time of any North Korean ballistic missile ever tested in the past. The missile is believed to beuses liquid fuel, a factor that is expected to reduce its maneuverability and rate of fire.

The Pentagon believes that North Korea's ICBM test poses a danger to ships near Japan, aircraft and satellites in space, but asserts that the US's modern missile defense system is completely capable of shooting down this type of missile, especially when reconnaissance aircraft detect the missile early.

The moment North Korea's ICBM launched.

However, the US may not have fired an interceptor missile to shoot down this ICBM because it believed it was not a real threat to the North American region.

Many experts and US military officials believe that the Hwasong-14 has a range of about 7,000 km, enough to reach the US state of Alaska. However, Pyongyang may not have yet successfully developed a nuclear warhead small enough to fit on this missile.

According to VNE