Seoul, Nov 19 (EFE).- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presided over the successful launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday and urged “accelerate nuclear deterrence” in the face of the “dangerous situation” who lives on the peninsula, the state news agency KCNA reported today.
The “new Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile”, which was defined as a “crucial milestone in strengthening the nuclear forces” of the country, flew 999.2 kilometers with an apogee of 6,040.9 kilometers before falling into the waters of the Sea of ??Japan, according to the KCNA article.
These data on the projectile, which landed 200 kilometers off the northern coast of Japan, are in line with what Tokyo and Seoul reported the day before.
After the launch, the North Korean leader assured that “the dangerous situation” in the region, marked by repeated North Korean weapons tests and the great military maneuvers by Seoul and Washington, demands “even more urgently” from his country ” accelerate the strengthening of the nuclear deterrent overwhelmingly and considerably”.
This Friday was possibly the first truly successful launch of this missile, which potentially has the longest range of the entire North Korean arsenal (about 15,000 kilometers) and which had already carried out test flights this year, but without real success, according to various analysts and the South Korean military.
Despite its potential ability to reach even Washington, analysts point out that the missile’s large wingspan, which is possibly designed to carry multiple warheads, greatly complicates its mobility and makes it a relatively easy target in a hypothetical preemptive strike.
According to KCNA, the test the day before “was aimed at determining the operational reliability” of the projectile and Kim assured that the country has “achieved another powerful and reliable capability capable of deterring any nuclear threat.”
Kim assured that Seoul and Washington “are engaged in their aggressive war exercises that disturb the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region” and affirmed that the more the US tries to strengthen the so-called extended deterrence “the more offensive it will become our military response.”
Extended or expanded deterrence is a commitment made in May by Washington with Seoul that consists of sending US strategic assets to the Korean peninsula based on the actions of the northern regime.
“If the enemy continues to threaten us with means of nuclear attack, our party and government will resolutely respond with nuclear weapons for nuclear weapons and frontal confrontation for frontal confrontation,” Kim said.
