WASHINGTON — The White House plans to impose new sanctions on North Korea on Friday over two recent missile tests that the administration has concluded were clandestine attempts to evaluate Pyongyang’s ICBM capabilities.
The two missile tests “involved a relatively new intercontinental ballistic missile system,” according to a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the sanctions.
The launches, which took place on Feb. 26 and March 4, are believed to be a prelude to North Korea testing an ICBM or a nuclear bomb in the coming months, as the two missiles themselves “did not demonstrate ICBM range or distance.” North Korea in 2017 tested ICBMs that analysts assessed had the capability of theoretically reaching the U.S. mainland.
