SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to further bolster his country’s nuclear combat capabilities as he oversaw the second test flight of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to attack the continental United States, a report said. on Thursday state media.
Kim’s statement suggested that North Korea would intensify weapons testing activities to expand its arsenal in response to recent steps by the United States to enhance its security engagement with ally South Korea.
«The current unstable situation in which the security environment on the Korean Peninsula is being seriously threatened by hostile forces at all times,» Kim said, according to state media. «(That) requires more intense efforts to implement the line of strengthening the deterrence of nuclear war.»
The UN Security Council scheduled an open meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile at the request of the United States, Albania, France, Japan, Malta and the United Kingdom.
The Korean Central News Agency reported Kim’s comments a day after the launch of the Hwasong-18, which was first tested in April and which Kim has called the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces.
The road-mobile ICBM has a built-in solid propellant, making it more difficult to detect in advance than liquid-fueled missiles.
KCNA said the launch was meant to reconfirm the missile’s technical credibility and operational reliability. Kim called the launch «another important step» in efforts to strengthen the North’s strategic forces, KCNA said.
According to KCNA, the missile was launched at a high angle to avoid neighboring countries. It flew 74 minutes and a distance of 622 miles at a maximum altitude of 4,130 miles before landing in a specific area in open water off the north east coast.
The missile’s flight time is the longest recorded for any weapon launched by North Korea. If launched on a standard trajectory, the missile could fly to the continental United States, though some experts say North Korea has yet to master some technologies to acquire working nuclear-armed missiles.
South Korea, Japan and the United States criticized North Korea for the launch, which they said posed a threat to regional and international peace. Adam Hodge, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, said in a statement that the US will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the US homeland and allies South Korea and Japan.
Kim set unspecified tasks for North Korea’s national defense sector, saying North Korea will undertake «a series of stronger military offensives» until the US improves its policy.»
That indicates that Kim will intensify his push to modernize his missile arsenals with sophisticated weapons like the Hwasong-18. Other weapons on Kim’s publicly stated wish list are a multi-warhead missile, a hypersonic weapon, a spy satellite and a nuclear-powered submarine.
North Korea has focused on bolstering its nuclear capability after Kim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with then-President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019 over disputes over US sanctions on North Korea.
KCNA accused the US and South Korea of recently making «frantic attempts at confrontation» and sparking «a new chain of nuclear crises» on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea often issues such harsh and bellicose rhetoric in times of tension with its rivals. The KCNA dispatch cited an agreement between the US and South Korea to strengthen the allies’ deterrence capabilities, such as the regular docking of a US nuclear-armed submarine in South Korea and the establishment of a new bilateral nuclear consultative group, whose inaugural meeting is scheduled for next week in Seoul.
The United States has expanded military exercises with South Korea and has taken steps to improve «regular visibility» of US strategic assets on the Korean Peninsula in response to the advance of the North’s nuclear arsenal. North Korea has conducted around 100 missile tests since early last year. Experts say Kim ultimately intends to use his expanded arsenal to win further concessions in future diplomacy with the United States.
Wednesday’s ICBM launch came two days after Kim’s sister and senior adviser Kim Yo Jong threatened «shocking» consequences to protest what she called provocative US reconnaissance activity near the territory. from North Korea. The US and South Korean governments dismissed North Korea’s accusations as baseless and urged it to refrain from escalating action.