WORLD N Korea’s missile launch a ‘ gift’ to US
NORTH Korea’s official news agency has declared Tuesday’s successful test of an intercontinental ballistic missile ( ICBM) a “gift” to “American bastards” for July 4 Independence Day celebrations.
Pyongyang’s official news agency attributed the words to North Korean leader Kim Jong- un, who reportedly personally oversaw the launch.
“He said American bastards would be not very happy with this gift sent on the July 4 anniversary,” the agency stated.
Breaking into laughter, the recorded statement said he “added that we should send them gifts once in a while to help break their boredom”.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the missile launch a “new escalation of the threat” to the US.
In a show of force directly responding to North Korea’s provocation, US and South Korean soldiers fired “deep strike” precision missiles into South Korean territorial wa- ters, US military Seoul said.
The missile firings demonstrated US- South Korean solidarity, the US Eighth Army said in a statement.
At the request of the US, Japan and South Korea, the United Nations Security Council was to hold an emergency session yesterday afternoon.
Mr Tillerson said that was part of a US response that would include “stronger measures to hold the DPRK accountable”, using an acronym for the isolated nation’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“Global action is required to officials in stop a global threat,” Mr Tillerson said.
“Any country that hosts North Korean guest workers, provides any economic or military benefits, or fails to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions is aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.”
He said the US “will never accept a nuclear- armed North Korea”.
Mr Tillerson’s statement, issued Tuesday evening as most Americans were celebrating the Fourth of July holiday, notably did not mention China, whose help the Trump administration has been aggressively seeking to press Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons program.
In recent days, as the North has continued to test missiles in defiance of global pressure, President Donald Trump has started voicing doubt that Beijing is up to the task.
His administration has taken several steps against China’s interests that have suggested its patience has run short.
Mr Tillerson’s comments were the first public confirmation by the US that the missile was indeed an ICBM, constituting a major technological advancement for the North and its most successful missile test yet.