North Korean leader Kim Jong-un warned of a “firm nuclear response” to US threats during a field inspection of his country’s test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
This came, according to North Korean official media, on Saturday, and was quoted by the South Korean Yonhap News Agency.
The North Korean Central News Agency said that the missile, which was launched on Friday from Pyongyang International Airport, traveled a distance of 999.2 km for 4,135 seconds, reached a height of 6,040.9 km, and landed in the international waters of the East Sea.
She added, “The missile test firing clearly demonstrated the reliability of the new main strategic weapon system to be representative of North Korea’s strategic forces and its strong combat performance as the most powerful strategic weapon in the world.”
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And she stressed that the missile test was carried out under “intolerable conditions” that the “reckless military confrontation moves of the United States and other hostile forces” that push regional security to the “red line” have crossed the permissible limit.
Referring to the large-scale joint military exercises that South Korea recently conducted with the mobilization of some key US strategic assets.
The media reported that Kim personally observed the test with senior North Korean officials.
Kim was quoted as saying that the launch of the ICBM reaffirmed that his regime had a strong and reliable ability to counter any nuclear threats.
“If the enemies continue to pose threats against North Korea and repeatedly use nuclear strike means, our Party and government will resolutely respond to nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons and to full confrontation with all-out confrontation,” he solemnly stated.
Yesterday, the South Korean military announced that Pyongyang had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile into the East Sea.
The launch came as the South Korean and US defense ministries held the inaugural session of the Anti-Missile Defense Working Group (CMWG), a working-level advisory body for missile defense, to intensify allied policy coordination against North Korea’s evolving security threats.
