Kim ‘will produce missiles on large scale’
North Korea says it will mass produce medium-range rockets capable of reaching US military bases in Japan
TOKYO // In an answer to US president Donald Trump’s policies, North Korea claimed it was ready to start mass-producing a new medium-range missile capable of reaching Japan and US military bases there.
Pyongyang on Sunday tested the solid- fuel Pukguksong- 2 missile, which flew about 500 kilometres and reached a height of 560km before plunging into the Pacific Ocean.
North Korea’s media said more missiles would be launched.
Mr Trump, travelling in Saudi Arabia, has not reacted yet.
North Korean leader Kim Jongun watched the launch from an observation post, state media reported yesterday.
It said the test verified technical aspects of the weapons system and examined its “adaptability under various battle conditions” before it was sent to military units.
Mr Kim, who said the launch was a success, approved the installation of the weapons system and ordered its mass production.
North Korea has increased its missile tests over the past year and appears to be making tangible progress towards developing an arsenal that poses a threat not only to South Korea and Japan, which host about 80,000 US troops, but also towards an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the mainland United States.
It is also moving ahead with its nuclear weapons programme.
The North conducted two nuclear tests last year, claiming one was a hydrogen bomb and the other created a more powerful explosion than any it had previously tested.
Satellite imagery suggests it could be ready to conduct its next test, which would be its sixth, any time.
Pyongyang’s often-stated goal is to perfect a nuclear warhead that it can put on a missile capable of hitting Washington or other US cities.
North Korea’s media, meanwhile, have stepped up their calls for more missile launches because of what Pyongyang claims is an increasingly hostile policy by Mr Trump.
“The Trump administration would be well advised to lend an ear to the voices of concern that are heard from the US and the international community,” the North’s Minju Joson newspaper said on Sunday. “Many more Juche weapons capable of striking the US will be launched from this land. This is the DPRK’s answer to the Trump administration.”
“Juche” refers to domestically produced.
At the request of diplomats from the US, Japan and South Korea, a United Nations’ Security Council consultation on the missile test will take place today.
North Korea a week earlier had tested a new midrange missile that it said could carry a heavy nuclear warhead.
‘ This is the DPRK’s answer to the Trump administration Minju Joson North Korea’s newspaper