Kim pulls trigger on his big gun

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un personally ordered the test-firing of the country’s “new type” of intercontinental ballistic missile, state media reported.

It is likely North Korea’s largest ever intercontinental ballistic missile test, and the first time the country has testfired Kim’s most powerful missiles since 2017.

“The test-launch of a new type intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasongpho-17 of the DPRK strategic forces was conducted on March 24 … under the direct guidance of Kim Jong-un,” KCNA said.

“The missile, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, flew a distance of 1090km for 4052s before accurately hitting the pre-set area in open waters of the East Sea of Korea,” which is what Pyongyang calls the Sea of Japan, KCNA said.

The Thursday launch, one of nearly a dozen North Korean weapons tests so far this year, marked a dramatic return to long-range testing by the nuclear-armed country.