North is fully nuclear – Kim
WARHEAD: MORE SOPHISTICATED THAN ANY PREVIOUSLY ‘I will only tell you that we will take care of it ... it is a situation that we will handle.’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said yesterday his country had achieved full nuclear statehood after what he said was the successful test of a new missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch snapped a two-month pause in testing by the North and poses a new challenge to US President Donald Trump, who has vowed such a capability “won’t happen”.
North Korean state television brought out Ri Chun-hee, a star presenter who only appears for significant developments, to announce the landmark.
“Kim Jong-un declared with pride that now we have finally realised the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power,” she said.
“The great success in the testfire of ICBM Hwasong-15 is a priceless victory won by the great and heroic people of the DPRK,” she added, using the official abbreviated name for North Korea.
Yesterday’s missile was more sophisticated than any previously tested, state media said.
“The ICBM Hwasong-15 type weaponry system is an intercontinental ballistic rocket tipped with a super-large heavy warhead, capable of striking the whole mainland of the US,” the North’s official news agency, KCNA, said.
Pyongyang said the missile reached an altitude of 4 475km and splashed down 950km from its launch site.
At least one Western expert said the missile’s lofted trajectory suggested an actual range of 13 000km – enough to hit every major US city.
“I will only tell you that we will take care of it,” was all Trump could say. “It is a situation that we will handle.” – AFP