Kim-mageddon!
N. Korea nuke could ‘reach US mainland’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed “great satisfaction” Saturday with the flight test of an intercontinental missile that may be able to reach the US mainland, the North’s news agency said.
The Hwasong-14 missile reached a maximum height of 2,314 miles and traveled 620 miles before landing in waters off Japan.
The test was aimed at confirming the maximum range and other technical aspects of the missile, which can deliver a “large-sized, heavy nuclear warhead,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim said the launch reaffirmed the reliability of the country’s ICBM system and an ability to fire at “random regions and locations at random times” with the “entire” US mainland now within range, KCNA reported.
Kim claimed the launch sent a “serious warning” to the US, which has been “meaninglessly blowing its trumpet” with threats of war and stronger sanctions, the KCNA said.
Analysts had estimated that the North’s first ICBM test, on July 4, could have reached Alaska. The latest missile could reach such cities as Los Angeles, Denver and Chicago, according to David Wright, a physicist and co-director of the global security program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
On the streets of Pyongyang, North Koreans welcomed the news of their country’s latest missile test while state media broadcast images of a projectile launched into the night sky — on which Kim could be seen in the company of military commanders near a mobile missile launcher.
“I feel really confident,” said Pak Gi-nam, a student. “From now on, we will develop and have the strongest weapons, strategic weapons, so we can safeguard our sovereignty and independence, so that we can end up winning against the imperialists and against America.”
It is normal for North Koreans talking in front of TV cameras to stick to the official version of events.