North Korea ‘breakthrough’ missile re-entered atmosphere after going HIGHER than ISS

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test was hailed in Pyongyang as a “breakthrough” for North Korea, following which the hermit nation declared itself a nuclear power.

The Earth’s atmosphere is about 300 miles thick, while the missile is said to have reached an altitude of 2,780 miles.

This is 10 times the distance from Earth of the International Space Station, which orbits at an altitude of between 205-270 miles.

Similar figures were confirmed by the South Korean military before Pyongyang made its statement on Wednesday.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said the ICBM went “higher frankly than any previous shot they’ve taken”.

It bodes well for Kim Jong-un’s nuclear capabilities if his missiles are regularly able to exit and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere.

ICBMs, long-range missiles designed to travel between continents, are propelled into space using similar technology to that which is behind rocket launches.

They then make their flight above the Earth’s atmosphere before re-entering the atmosphere to strike their target.

It’s claimed they can now reach a range of 8,000 miles, which would include the mainland US and UK.

Kim Jong-un claims North Korea’s nuclear weapons are aimed at “defending the sovereignty of the nation from the US nuclear threat and protecting the peaceful life of the people”.

He says no other country is under threat from the dictatorship’s nuclear programme.

However North Korea’s neighbours were at panic stations when news of the missile launch emerged.

The UN Security Council scrambled to hold an emergency meeting after the ballistic missile launch on Wednesday evening.

Both the US and Japan requested the urgent meeting after the missile landed in the Sea of Japan.

Within minutes of the launch, South Korea had fired its own retaliatory missile test, stoking fears of World War 3 in the region.

According to Yonhap News, South Korea’s spy agency said it does not rule out the possibility of North Korea conducting yet another nuclear test.

Head of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of Strategic Studies Jeffrey Lewis said: “We don’t have to like it, but we’re going to have to learn to live with North Korea’s ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons.”