North Korea test-launched a suspected long-range missile designed to strike the continental U.S. on Thursday, South Korea’s military said, as the United States warned that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine in a likely move to augment Russian forces and join the war.

It wasn’t immediately known what specific long-range missile capabilities North Korea aims to test, but the launch was likely meant to grab American attentions ahead of next week’s U.S. presidential election.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea’s capital region around 7:10 a.m. on Thursday. It said the weapon was launched on a high angle and it was suspected of being a long-range ballistic missile.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea’s military has boosted its surveillance posture and was closely exchanging information on the North Korean launch with the U.S. and Japanese authorities.

If confirmed, it’s North Korea’s first test-firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile since December 2023, when it launched the solid-fueled Hwasong-18 ICBM. Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and hide, and can be launched quicker than liquid-propellant weapons.

South Korea’s military intelligence agency told lawmakers Wednesday that North Korea was close to test-firing a long-range missile capable of reaching the United States and has also likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test.

North Korea has made strides in its missile technologies in recent years, but many foreign experts believe the country has yet to acquire functioning nuclear-armed missile that can strike the U.S. mainland. They say North Korea likely possesses short-range missiles that can deliver nuclear strikes across all of South Korea.

All of North Korea’s ICBM tests in past years have been performed on lofty angles to avoid neighboring countries. South Korean officials and experts earlier predicted that North Korea may test-launch a ICBM on a normal angle to verify whether the weapon’s warhead would survive the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry. That is considered one of the few remaining technological hurdles North Korea needs to overcome to obtain functioning nuclear-tipped ICBMs.

There also have been speculation that North Korea may soon test a new ICBM. In September, North Korean state media published a photo of Kim inspecting what appeared to be a 12-axle missile launch vehicle, the largest mobile launch platform the country has disclosed so far. Observers said North Korea could be developing a new ICBM that is bigger than its existing ones.

In the past two years, Kim has used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to ramp up weapons tests and threats while also expanding military cooperation with Moscow. South Korea, the U.S. and others have recently accused North Korea of dispatching thousands of troops to support Russia’s warfighting against Ukraine. They’ve said North Korea has already shipped artillery, missiles and other convectional arms to Russia.

North Korea’s possible participation in the Ukraine war would mark a serious escalation. South Korea, the U.S. and their partners also worry about what North Korea could get from Russia in return for joining Russia’s war against Ukraine. Asides from his soldiers’ wages, experts say Kim Jong Un likely hopes to get high-tech Russian technology that can perfect his nuclear-capable missiles.

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment are moving toward Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilizing development. Austin spoke at a press conference in Washington with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.

South Korea said Wednesday that North Korea has sent more than 11,000 troops to Russia and that more than 3,000 of them have been moved close to battlefields in Western Russia.

(AP)