Kim Jong Un oversees North Korea
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the launch of an intermediate-range strategic missile as Pyongyang continues testing its hypersonic weapons and strengthening what it describes as its nuclear war deterrent.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen the launch of an
intermediate-range strategic missile as Pyongyang continues testing
its hypersonic weapons and strengthening what it describes as its
nuclear war deterrent.
The missile was launched from eastern North Korea at dawn on
Saturday, October 3, and struck a designated target about 1,000
kilometres away in waters off the country’s east coast, according
to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
KCNA said the drill was intended to train missile troops
operating the country’s “hypersonic strategic weapon system” and
assess the reliability, efficiency and mobility of North Korea’s
war deterrent.
South Korea’s military provided a different estimate of the
missile’s flight, saying it detected the launch from the Wonsan
area and tracked the projectile travelling more than 700 kilometres
toward the sea.
Kim Jong Un personally observed the exercise and called for
further development of North Korea’s strategic weapons.
“We must continue our responsible efforts nonstop to constantly
and repeatedly make the enemy recognize the reliability and
fatality of our strategic offensive means,” Kim was quoted as
saying by KCNA.
“This is a form of exercising deterrent,” he added, describing
such launches as part of efforts to more rapidly develop the
country’s nuclear war deterrent.
North Korean state media photographs showed Kim observing the
launch alongside his daughter, Ju-ae, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju.
Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister and a senior
official in the ruling Workers’ Party, had disclosed the missile
test less than 12 hours after the launch. She claimed that South
Korean and Japanese authorities had failed to fully track the
missile’s trajectory because of limitations in their monitoring
capabilities.
South Korea, however, rejected that assertion, maintaining that
its surveillance systems had accurately tracked the missile.
The launch comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean
Peninsula following a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone
last month that wounded South Korean soldiers.
Seoul has blamed North Korea for planting the mines and demanded
an apology. Pyongyang has rejected the accusation that it
deliberately planted mines targeting South Korean troops.
North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests so far this
year as it continues developing a range of strategic weapons,
including hypersonic systems designed to travel at high speeds
while manoeuvring during flight.
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