The BBC reported the launch of the missile — which landed in Japan’s territorial waters — is the 14th so far this year. North Korea tests missile that could hit U.S. mainland

North Korea on Friday launched another ballistic missile that experts estimate had the reach to hit practically all of the major cities on the U.S. mainland.

Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said the Defense Department detected the intercontinental ballistic missile launch at 10:41 a.m. Washington time. Launched from Mupyong-ni, he said, the missile traveled about 1,000 kilometers, or more than 600 miles, before coming down in the Sea of Japan.


Following the launch, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford and U.S. Pacific Command chief Adm. Harry Harris called the South Korean Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Lee Sun Jin to discuss "military response options," Dunford spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks said.

The missile, Davis said, "did not pose a threat to North America."

Arms control experts, however, estimated the missile actually had a range of more than 10,000 kilometers — more than enough to hit the U.S. mainland.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the east Asia nonproliferation program at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said the latest missile was fired straight in the air. And judging by how high the missile went, how far it went and how long it flew, estimates show it could go from 10,800 to 12,000 kilometers on a standard trajectory.

That means the missile could hit several major U.S. mainland cities, including Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, New York and Boston.

Washington was estimated to be about 100 kilometers out of range.

The BBC reported the launch of the missile — which landed in Japan’s territorial waters — is the 14th so far this year.

The launch comes after The Washington Post reported the Defense Intelligence Agency has projected that North Korea was on track to field a nuclear-armed ICBM next year.

On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Paul Ryan called North Korea "a global menace" and said the country's pursuit of a nuclear weapon that can strike the U.S. "poses clear and immediate danger to our national security."

"We take this threat very seriously. That's why, earlier this week, a bipartisan majority of the House voted to sanction North Korea," he said. "The Kim regime needs to pay for its actions."

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, said the launch pointed to an even greater need for a response from the United Nations and additional sanctions against "those who enable the regime."

"Sitting by and allowing these tests to continue is not an option," she said.

Earlier this month, North Korea launched its first intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of more than 3,400 miles, long enough to reach Alaska or Hawaii, as well as several U.S. allies in the Pacific. That missile, which flew for 37 minutes, landed off the coast of Japan.

The launches have caused concern among key members of Congress. House Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said this week following a closed briefing on the country’s missile capabilities that he was growing “increasingly alarmed.”

“For some time, and especially during the last eight years, we have neglected the nation’s missile defenses,” Thornberry said. “Now we face a growing threat with significant ground to make up.”