North Korean Missile Test Puts Civilian Air Traffic in Danger, Claims United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson

Canada, January 18: United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has dwelled upon that North Korea's November ballistic missile put the civilian air traffic in danger. Tillerson shared that the passengers on a commercial flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong could see a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile flying through the November sky.

North Korea test-fired what it said was an Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in late November. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the commercial airline was 280 nautical miles from the point of impact. At that time, it said, there were nine other flights within that range, reported Voice of America (VoA).

The report quoted Tillerson, as saying, "Over the course of that day, according to the Department of Defense, an estimated 716 flights were due to pass within that range. The FAA says the total available seats on those 716 flights were 152,110. That's a lot of people from a lot of countries being put at risk by an irresponsible testing of ballistic missiles."

"Based on its past recklessness," Tillerson added, "we cannot expect North Korea to have any regard for what might get in the way of one of its missiles, or parts of a missile breaking apart." Tillerson spoke in Vancouver, where top diplomats from 20 nations gathered to explore new ways to enforce sanctions and choke off North Korea's economy.

Co-hosted by Canada for the United States' Korean War allies, the Vancouver meeting is looking for ways to prevent the threat of conflict with North Korea, said the report. The November missile test spiked tensions and sparked a war of words between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. Pyongyang has taken its weapons tests in recent months a notch higher. In September, North Korea tested what it said was a hydrogen bomb.