Throughout 2017, 17
missile
In military terminology, a missile is a guided airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight usually by a jet engine or rocket motor. Missiles are thus also called guided missiles or guided rockets (when a previously unguided rocket i ...
tests were conducted by
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
. These tests ranged in success, and included first tests of the DPRK's new missile, the
Hwasong-12, which was the most-tested missile type over the course of the year. 2017's missile tests are especially notable due to the several instances of North Korean missiles passing over
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, provoking a response from the
Japanese government, as well as the test of an
ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
, the range of which prompted an Emergency Debate of the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
.
April
On April 4, 2017, North Korea launched a
Hwasong-12 ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a type of missile that uses projectile motion to deliver warheads on a target. These weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods—most of the flight is unpowered. Short-range ballistic missiles stay within the ...
which reached the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
. The test came after a day of celebration for
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
's Eternal President
Kim Il-sung
Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...
.
US Secretary of State
Rex Tillerson
Rex Wayne Tillerson (born March 23, 1952) is an American engineer and energy executive who served as the 69th U.S. secretary of state from February 1, 2017, to March 31, 2018, under President Donald Trump. Prior to joining the Trump administ ...
responded by saying the United States had not changed its stance on North Korea and would not comment further.
On April 15, 2017, a
Hwasong-12 missile was launched and failed almost immediately, according to the
United States Military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
and the
South Korean Armed Forces
The Republic of Korea Armed Forces (), also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of ...
. The
US National Security Advisor,
H.R. McMaster, said "all options are on the table" as possible reactions.
On April 28, 2017, another
Hwasong-12 missile was launched from
Bukchang in the
South Pyeongan province, and failed shortly after liftoff. The missile hit the ground in an industrial area around near the city of
Tokchon
Tŏkch'ŏn () is a ''si'', or city, in northern South P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It is bordered by Nyŏngwŏn and Maengsan to the east, Kujang county in North P'yŏngan province to the north, Kaech'ŏn to the west and Pukch'ang to the ...
, causing damage to multiple buildings. This launch occurred only hours after a meeting of the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
condemned North Korean missile and nuclear testing activities again. US President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
called this action disrespectful to China.
May
On May 14, 2017, a ballistic missile test was carried out. The
Hwasong-12 missile flew for 30 minutes, covering a distance of and reaching an altitude upwards of .
June
On June 8, 2017 North Korea fired four anti-ship missiles off its east coast, near the port city of
Wonsan
Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
.
July
On July 4, 2017 North Korea tested an
ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
. The missile flew for approximately 40 minutes, falling away from the launch site in the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
. The missile, named the
Hwasong-14, reached an altitude of . It is estimated that the missile has the capability of reaching on a standard trajectory, meaning that although it would not be capable of reaching the
Contiguous United States
The contiguous United States (officially the conterminous United States) consists of the 48 adjoining U.S. states and the Federal District of the United States of America. The term excludes the only two non-contiguous states, Alaska and Hawaii ...
, it would be able to hit anywhere in
Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
. The test prompted an Emergency Debate of the
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
.
On July 28, 2017, North Korea launched an additional ballistic missile from
Chagang Province, reaching an altitude of 3,000 km ending up in the Sea of Japan narrowly missing an Air France Flight from Tokyo to Paris. km (1,865 mi).
Jeffrey Lewis
Jeffrey Lewis (born November 20, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter and comic book artist.
Early life
Lewis was born in New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. He attended State University of New York at Purchase, graduating i ...
, researcher at the
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS), formerly known as the Monterey Institute of International Studies, is an American graduate school of Middlebury College, a private college in Middlebury, Vermont.
Established ...
, estimated that the missile could have a range of approximately 10,000 km based on its 45-minute flight time. With this range, the missile could potentially reach major U.S. cities such as
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. This is the fourteenth missile test conducted by North Korea in the year 2017. As with the missile launched on July 4, this missile has also been estimated to be of type
Hwasong-14.
August
On August 26, 2017, three short-range missiles were launched around early morning from a site in Gangwon Province, with the second one appearing to have blown up almost immediately while another two flew about 250 km (155 miles) in a north-eastern direction, before crashing in the Sea of Japan.
Mid-range launch over Japan
On August 29, 2017, at 5:57 am
KST, North Korea launched a
Hwasong-12 ballistic missile that passed over
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, the second largest island of Japan. The missile travelled and reached a maximum height of .
This was the second successful test flight of the
Hwasong-12 missile, following three failed tests.
[
Japanese citizens living beneath the missile's flight path received a ]J-Alert
J-Alert ( ja, J-ALERT/Jアラート, J Arāto; full name ja, 全国瞬時警報システム, Zenkoku Shunji Keihō Shisutemu, National Early Warning System, label=none) is the early warning system used in Japan. J-Alert was launched in Februa ...
message on their cellphone
A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
s at 6:02 a.m., just four minutes after the projectile was launched, rousing some from sleep.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍 晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...
called this test "a reckless act of launching a missile that flies over our country is an unprecedented, serious and important threat." North Korea had previously carefully avoided sending test missiles over Japan by using highly lofted trajectories, and had sent more recent satellite launches to the south avoiding Japan.[ The missile was at an altitude of about over Japan, well into ]space
Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...
, and the Japanese military did not attempt to shoot down the missile.
The missile was launched from Pyongyang Sunan International Airport
Pyongyang International Airport () , also known as the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, is the main airport serving Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It is located in the city's Sunan District. and the only two foreign countries s ...
, presumably using a mobile launcher. It reportedly broke into three parts before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
; it is unclear if this was intentional. Given North Korea's geographical position, for a non-lofted test flight at this range there was no other practical alternative to passing over Japan.[
This was the fifth time North Korea fired a rocket over the ]Japanese archipelago
The Japanese archipelago (Japanese: 日本列島, ''Nihon rettō'') is a group of 6,852 islands that form the country of Japan, as well as the Russian island of Sakhalin. It extends over from the Sea of Okhotsk in the northeast to the East Chin ...
, although this launch was the first missile launch, as the previous four were satellite launches or attempts.
September
On September 15 at about 6:30am KST, North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 missile from the Pyongyang International Airport
Pyongyang International Airport () , also known as the Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, is the main airport serving Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. It is located in the city's Sunan District. and the only two foreign countries s ...
, which, for a second time, overflew Hokkaido, Japan. The missile traveled and reached a maximum height of ; this is the furthest distance any North Korean IRBM missile has ever reached.
November
On November 28, North Korea launched another ballistic missile, a Hwasong-15
The Hwasong-15 () is an intercontinental ballistic missile developed by North Korea. It had its maiden flight on 28 November 2017, around 3 a.m. local time. It is the first ballistic missile developed by North Korea that is theoretically capab ...
, the first in over two months. The missile was said to have reached an altitude of 4,500 km and landed near Japan's exclusive economic zone. According to Yonhap
Yonhap News Agency is a major South Korean news agency. It is based in Seoul, South Korea. Yonhap provides news articles, pictures and other information to newspapers, TV networks and other media in South Korea.
History
Yonhap (, , translit. ' ...
News, Korean Air
Korean Air Co., Ltd. (), operating as Korean Air (Korean Air Lines before 1984), is the flag carrier of South Korea and its largest airline based on fleet size, international destinations and international flights.
The present-day Korean Air ...
flights KE026 and KE012 witnessed lights presumably from separated portions of the missile.
See also
* 2017 North Korean crisis
* 2017 in North Korea
In the year 2017, North Korea was involved in the 2017 North Korea crisis, along with other events. The country conducted a nuclear test in September, and several missile tests throughout the year. One of these was the country's first successfu ...
* Korean conflict
The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea ...
* Korean reunification
Korean reunification () is the potential reunification of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea into a single Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification was started by the June 15th North–South Joi ...
References
{{Nuclear program of North Korea
2017 in military history
2017 in Japan
2017 in North Korea
Guided missiles of North Korea
Nuclear program of North Korea
Intercontinental ballistic missiles of North Korea