North Korean President Kim Jong Un declared his regime a “responsible nuclear power” on Wednesday, just hours after it launched an intercontinental ballistic missile with enough range to strike the US mainland.
“After watching the successful launch of the new type ICBM Hwasong-15, Kim Jong Un declared with pride that now we have finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, the cause of building a rocket power,” said a statement read on state-run television in North Korea.
It went on to say Pyongyang is a “responsible nuclear power,” claiming its strategic weapons were developed to defend itself from “the US imperialists’ nuclear blackmail policy and nuclear threat.”
Kim’s government said the rocket flew 590 miles and reached a high point of 2,780 miles — 10 times higher than the International Space Station — during its 53 minutes in the air before crashing in the Sea of Japan.
North Korean state media said the rocket was launched from a newly developed vehicle and it could carry a warhead and withstand the extreme heat during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.
The claim wasn’t independently verified, but US Defense Secretary James Mattis summed up the threat posed by the latest development in North Korea’s arsenal.
“It went higher, frankly, than any previous shot they’ve taken, a research and development effort on their part to continue building ballistic missiles that can threaten everywhere in the world, basically,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
South Korea on Tuesday said Pyongyang has stepped up its nuclear program and could announce the completion of the program as soon as next year.
North Korea detonated a nuclear device in September and has been test-firing missiles as it works to develop a rocket capable of carrying a nuclear payload that could strike the US mainland.
President Trump has reached out to the leaders of South Korea and Japan, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Just spoke to President Xi Jinping of China concerning the provocative actions of North Korea. Additional major sanctions will be imposed on North Korea today. This situation will be handled!” Trump
posted on Twitter on Wednesday.
The United Nations Security Council was expected to take up North Korea’s latest provocation Wednesday.