Pyongyang says its latest ICBM test should bolster its “deadly nuclear counterattack” capabilities.
North Korea has said it fired an ICBM as a warning to the United States and South Korea and claimed the drill successfully demonstrated its ability to launch a “deadly nuclear counterattack”.
North Korea’s statement on Sunday came a day after it shot down the Hwasong-15 off the west coast of Japan after warning of a strong response to upcoming US and South Korean military exercises.
“The surprise ICBM launch exercise … is a real testament to the consistent efforts of DPRK’s Strategic Nuclear Forces to transform their deadly nuclear counterattack capability on enemy forces into an irresistible one,” state news agency KCNA said, using the acronym for that of the country official name: Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, balked at the US for trying to turn the UN Security Council into what she called a “tool for its vile hostile policies” towards Pyongyang.
“I warn that we will monitor every movement of the enemy and take appropriate and very powerful and overwhelming countermeasures against any of his movements hostile to us,” she said in a statement.
Saturday’s missile launch, North Korea’s first since Jan. 1, came after Pyongyang threatened an “unprecedentedly heavy-handed, strong” response on Friday as the US and South Korea prepare for annual military exercises to address the growing nuclear threat posed by Pyongyang and fend off missiles.
The state news agency said the missile flew up to 5,768 km (3,584 miles) for 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55 seconds before accurately hitting a preset area 989 km (615 miles) away in open water.
The Hwasong-15 was first tested in 2017.
Japan said Saturday the missile crashed into waters within its exclusive economic zone.
‘Without Warning’
Nuclear-armed North Korea last year launched an unprecedented number of missiles, including ICBMs, that can strike anywhere in the US as it resumed preparations for its first nuclear test since 2017.
South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said Saturday’s launch “clearly signals” Pyongyang’s intention to carry out further provocations.
“When North Korea conducts the seventh nuclear test, which could happen at any time, it will be a game changer in the sense that North Korea could develop and deploy tactical nuclear missiles,” Park said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
The launch, directed by the Missile General Bureau, was conducted on an “emergency firepower combat readiness order” issued at dawn, followed by a written order from Kim Jong Un at 8 a.m. local time (11:00 p.m. GMT Friday), KCNA said . The South Korean military said it spotted the missile at 5:22 p.m. (08:22 GMT).
“The important thing here is that the drill was ordered on the day of the day without warning to the crew involved,” said Ankit Panda, a missile expert with the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The time between ordering and launch will likely be shortened with additional testing.”
The military unit received an “excellent mark” for the exercise, and North Korea’s ruling party “highly appreciated the actual warfare capacity of the ICBM units, which are ready for a mobile and powerful counterattack,” KCNA said.
Analysts say North Korea is likely to conduct more weapons tests, including a possible new solid-fuel missile that could help Pyongyang deploy its missiles more quickly in the event of war.
North Korea’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs are banned under UN Security Council resolutions, but Pyongyang says its weapons development is necessary to counter “hostile policies” by Washington and its allies.