SEOUL, Nov 19 (NNN-YONHAP) – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), towards the eastern waters yesterday, under the inspection of its top leader, Kim Jong Un, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, today.
The new-type ICBM, Hwasongpho-17, was launched at the Pyongyang International Airport, and travelled a distance of 999.2 km for 4,135 seconds, before accurately landing on a preset area, in the eastern open waters, the report said, lauding the test-fire as a clear verification of the reliability and powerful combat performance of the new strategic weapon system.
The top DPRK leader commended the successful test-launch and cited the recent dangerous situation on the Korea Peninsula, as an imperative for his country to “substantially accelerate the bolstering of overwhelming nuclear deterrence.”
Kim said, the more the U.S. is obsessed with its military bluffing, on the Korean Peninsula and the surrounding areas, by means of “strengthened offer of extended deterrence” to its allies and war exercises, the more offensive the DPRK’s military counteraction will be.
He warned that, if enemies continue to pose threats by frequently introducing nuclear strike means, his country will resolutely “react to nukes with nuclear weapons, and to total confrontation with all-out confrontation.”– NNN-YONHAP
