JONG-UN: ALL OF U.S. WITHIN STRIKE RANGE

North Korean leader says rocket test is grave warning to Washington

SEOUL

KIM Jong-un boasted of North Korea’s ability to strike any target in the United States after a second intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test that weapons experts said yesterday could even bring New York into range — in a potent challenge to President Donald Trump.

China condemned the test but US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Beijing and Moscow bore “unique responsibility” for the growing threat posed by the reclusive North.

Kim said the test “is meant to send a grave warning to the US” and demonstrated the North’s ability to launch “at any place and time”, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

The “leader said the test confirmed all the US mainland is within striking range,” it said.

Trump denounced the launch as “reckless and dangerous” and rejected Pyongyang’s claims that such tests helped ensure its security.

“The US will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region,” Trump said.

Weapons experts said the altitude and flight time of Friday’s missile suggested it was more powerful than the July 4 test, with a theoretical range of around 10,000km meaning it might be able to reach east coast US cities like New York, depending on the payload size.

Kim Dong-yub, a defence analyst at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said the North might have succeeded in miniaturising warheads down to 750kg.

“If the missile carries a 750kg payload, its range could be 10,000km. Taking into account the Earth’s rotation, it means it could reach not only the western cities but New York and Washington as well,” he said.

Tillerson said Pyongyang’s main ally Beijing, together with Moscow, bore responsibility for the growing threat from Pyongyang.

“As the principal economic enablers of North Korea’s nuclear weapon and ballistic missile development programme, China and Russia bear unique and special responsibility for this growing threat to regional and global stability,” he said. AFP

EPA PIC North Korean leader Kim Jongun (right) supervising the testfire of an ICBM at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Friday.