Military ‘equilibrium’ with U.S. near, N. Korea claims

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the country is nearing its goal of “equilibrium” in military force with the United States, as the U.N. Security Council condemned the North’s “highly provocative” ballistic missile test Friday.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency carried Kim’s comments today — a day after U.S. and South Korean militaries detected the missile launch from Pyongyang.

The missile traveled 2,300 miles as it flew over Japan before landing in the northern Pacific Ocean. It was the country’s longest test flight of a ballistic missile.

The North has confirmed the missile as an intermediate range Hwasong-12, the same model launched over Japan on Aug. 29.

The KCNA said Kim expressed great satisfaction over the launch, which he said verified the “combat efficiency and reliability” of the missile and the success of efforts to increase its power.

Although the English version of the report was less straightforward, the Korean version quoted Kim as declaring the missile as operationally ready. He vowed to complete his nuclear weapons program in the face of strengthening international sanctions, the agency said.

The U.N. Security Council accused North Korea of undermining regional peace and security by launching its latest missile over Japan and said its nuclear and missile tests “have caused grave security concerns around the world” and threaten all 193 U.N. member states.

Kim also said the country, despite “limitless” international sanctions, has nearly completed the building of its nuclear weapons force and called for “all-state efforts” to obtain a “capacity for nuclear counterattack the U.S. cannot cope with.”

“As recognized by the whole world, we have made all these achievements despite the U.N. sanctions that have lasted for decades,” the agency quoted Kim as saying.

Kim said the country’s final goal “is to establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military option for the DPRK,” referring to North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.