North Korean state media said that leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the test launch of a ballistic missile on Thursday, stressing that it shows the country's nuclear capabilities and determination to deter any US military moves.
The Korean Central News Agency said Kim ordered the test because of the "daily escalating military tension on and around the Korean Peninsula" and because "the inevitability of a long-term confrontation with the US imperialists is accompanied by the risk of nuclear war."
"The strategic forces of the DPRK are fully prepared to deter and contain any dangerous military attempts by the US imperialists," the agency quoted Kim as saying while supervising the missile launch.
The North Korean leader vowed that anyone who tries to breach his country's security will "pay a heavy price," according to official media.
The same sources added that Kim sees the new ballistic missile as "a deterrent to nuclear war."
"Hwasong-17" is the largest liquid-fueled missile launched by a country from a mobile launcher, according to analysts (European, North Korean media)
This may be the first full-range test launch of North Korea's largest nuclear-capable missile since 2017, and flight data indicate that the missile flew higher and longer than any missiles in Pyongyang's previous tests, before falling into the sea west of Japan.
The missile bears the name "Hwasong-17", and analysts said it is the largest liquid-fueled missile launched by a country from a mobile launcher.
The leaders of the United States, Japan and South Korea condemned the missile launch, and the US State Department announced yesterday that it has imposed sanctions on two Russian companies, two people from Russia and North Korea, and the Second Academy of Natural Sciences of the Office of Foreign Affairs in Pyongyang for transporting sensitive materials to North Korea's missile program.
Kim (center) believes that this missile test helps deter nuclear war (European, according to North Korean media)
"These actions are part of our ongoing efforts to impede North Korea's ability to develop its missile program, and highlight the negative role that Russia plays on the international stage as a proliferator of these programs," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
In the reactions also, the South Korean army said that it launched several missiles from land, sea and air, in response to the launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea.
So Choo-suk, South Korea's deputy national security adviser, said that Pyongyang is exercising this test in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in accused the North of violating "the moratorium on intercontinental ballistic missile tests that President Kim Jong Un has promised the international community."