SEOUL: North Korea said on Tuesday it had launched a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Monday as a drill to confirm the war readiness of its nuclear deterrence force in the face of mounting hostility by the United States.
State news agency KCNA said the country’s leader Kim Jong Un watched the launch of the ICBM at the site. The missile reached the altitude of 6,518 km (4,050 miles), flying 1,002 km (623 miles) and accurately hitting the intended target, KCNA said.
Kim said the launch sends “a clear signal to the hostile forces, who have fanned up their reckless military confrontation hysteria” against the North throughout the year, KCNA said.
The agency said the drill “displayed the DPRK’s will for toughest counteraction and its overwhelming strength.” DPRK is short for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
He presented “some new important tasks for accelerating the development of the DPRK’s nuclear strategic forces,” KCNA said without elaborating.
“The US imperialists and their vassal forces’ vicious ambition for confrontation will not abate of its own accord, he said, stressing the need for the DPRK to never overlook all the reckless and irresponsible military threats of the enemies.”
South Korea and Japan said on Monday the North had fired an ICBM with a range to hit anywhere in the United States.
On Sunday, it condemned a US military show of force including the arrival of an aircraft carrier and nuclear-powered submarine in South Korea as “war” moves, and fired a short-range ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast.
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