North Korea leader says he will complete nuclear program
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un said the country is nearing its goal of "equilibrium" in military force with the United States, as the United Nations Security Council strongly condemned the North's "highly provocative" ballistic missile test. The North's official Korean Central News Agency carried Kim's comments on Saturday, a day after US and South Korean militaries detected the missile launch from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang. It travelled 3,700 kilometres as it flew over Japan before landing in the northern Pacific Ocean. It was the country's longestever 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 August 29, reports AP.
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. While 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 UN 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 UN member states.