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| The alleged test-firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile from an undisclosed location in North Korea, March 24, is seen in this photo distributed by the North Korean government. AP-Yonhap |
North Korea said Friday that it successfully test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17, the previous day on the direct order of its leader Kim Jong-un.
Making an "on-site inspection" of the test, Kim stressed his country would be "fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the U.S. imperialists," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim was quoted as adding, "The new strategic weapon of the DPRK would make the whole world clearly aware of the power of our strategic armed forces once again." DPRK stands for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"He stressed that our national defense forces would possess formidable military and technical capabilities unperturbed by any military threat and blackmail and keep themselves fully ready for long-standing confrontation with the U.S. imperialists," the KCNA said in its quite lengthy English-language report.
Kim warned that any forces infringing upon the security of his country should be aware that it will have to pay a "dear price."
He provided detailed guidance nearly every day to ensure that the Hwasong-17 was completed as a "reliable nuclear war deterrence means," the KCNA said, calling the new weapon system a "fruition of self-reliance."
The ICBM flew 1,090 kilometers for 4,052 seconds at a maximum altitude of 6,248 km before "accurately hitting the pre-set area" in the East Sea, the KCNA said.
South Korea's military said Thursday that it detected the launch from the Sunan airfield in Pyongyang at 2:34 p.m. and the missile flew 1,080 kilometers at an apogee of over 6,200 km.
Shortly after the launch, South Korean President Moon Jae-in presided over an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) and strongly condemned the North's action.
The White House also strongly condemned the missile launch Thursday (local time) and called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease its destabilizing actions."
Thursday's launch marked the North's first ICBM launch since 2017 in a move sharply escalating tensions in the region.
It was Pyongyang's 12th show of force this year, ending its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear weapons and long-range missile testing.
In April 2018, Pyongyang declared a moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests amid Seoul-brokered diplomacy that led to the first-ever summit between the United States and the North in Singapore in June of that year. (Yonhap)
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