NORTH KOREA: According to a report by North Korean official media on Sunday, Kim Jong-un has vowed to create a more potent intercontinental ballistic missile and exponentially increase the production of nuclear warheads, signaling growing hostilities with the United States, South Korea, and other countries.
After conducting a record-breaking number of missiles launches in 2018, the leader’s remarks at a significant governing party conference were made public just hours after North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward its eastern waters. 2023 will thus begin with another weapons test.
Kim claimed that Washington and Seoul were involved in an “unparalleled in human history plot to isolate and stifle Pyongyang”.
Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying that in order to mass-produce tactical nuclear weapons, North Korea was forced to increase production “exponentially.”
Additionally, it stated that Kim has given the go-ahead to produce a brand-new variety of intercontinental ballistic missile with a quick retaliation assault capability. According to reports, Kim also stated that North Korea would soon launch its first military spy satellite.
According to a statement from the joint chiefs of staff, the military of South Korea discovered Sunday’s launch from the North’s capital region around 2.50 a.m. Before crashing into the water between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the missile, according to the report, travelled around 400 kilometers (250 miles).
The joint chiefs of staff referred to the launch as “a grave provocation” that threatens regional and global peace and security. According to the report, South Korea maintained a state of preparedness to respond to any provocations while closely monitoring North Korean actions in collaboration with the US.
The launch, according to a statement from the US Indo-Pacific Command, underlined “the destabilizing impact” of North Korea’s illegal weapons programs. It stated that the US vows to defend Japan and South Korea and “remain ironclad.”
Over 70 missile tests were conducted by North Korea last year. Some experts claim that in the long run, the nation wants to build up its arsenal of weapons and exert more pressure on its adversaries to secure concessions like the lifting of sanctions.
North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles at the United States on Saturday.
The nation tested the capability of its super-large multiple rocket launcher on Sunday, according to the state-run media in North Korea. According to KCNA, three shells fired from the launcher on Saturday precisely hit a target island off its eastern coast.It said that on Sunday, North Korea launched another shell into its eastern waters.
Due to their trajectories, ranges, and other features, the weapons fired from the launcher are classified as ballistic missiles by outside analysts.
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