North Korea Claims New Nuclear Missile Could Strike Mainland U.S.


North Korea test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) Wednesday. The South Korean military said the nuclear missile traveled approximately 500 km toward Japan before falling into the sea, according to the Korea Times. It marked the longest flight made by a nuclear missile of that type launched by North Korea.

A military source added that the nuclear missile could have traveled more than 1,000 km if it had been launched at a lower angle rather than the high angle used during the test fire, the Times reports. The length of the missile’s flight indicates North Korea has made tremendous advances in its nuclear missile program.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applauded the launch, calling it “the greatest success and victory,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) as quoted by the Times.

Kim added that the effectiveness of the rocket proved the authoritarian country had “joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability.”

The Times notes that North Korea insists its nuclear weapons program serves as a nuclear deterrent and is only for self-defense against what it sees as hostile U.S. policy.

However, Kim took the opportunity to make veiled threats towards the U.S. and its “followers.”

“I do not guess what ridiculous remarks the U.S. and its followers will make about this test-fire, but I can say their rash acts will only precipitate their self-destruction,” the Associated Press quoted Kim as saying.

According to the Associated Press, Kim boasted that it is now “undeniable” the U.S. mainland is within North Korea’s striking distance.

South Koreans protest North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. [Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images]

The launch of the new nuclear missile comes as tensions between North Korea, South Korea, and the United States are flaring once again.

The U.S. and South Korea began their annual joint military drill on Monday. North Korea denounces the drill every year and views it as a rehearsal for an invasion of the north, according to the Times.

The Times also reported that KCNA said Kim “stressed the need to put efforts toward mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles and developing means of their delivery in order to cope with nuclear war threats coming from the U.S.”

The launch caught the attention of the international community, of course.

The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Thursday to consider issuing a statement on the missile launch, according to the Associated Press. The meeting was requested by the U.S. and Japan.

After the meeting, Malaysia’s UN ambassador Ramlan Bin Ibrahim said “there was a general sense of condemnation by most members of the council,” the Associated Press reports.

Foreign policy and global conflict analysts noted that in addition to earning the condemnation of the international community, launching the nuclear missile will probably do very little to ensure North Korea’s security.

“Pyongyang’s missile launch and militarist bluster, along with its bellicose threats, are reactionary,” Peter Symonds writes at Global Research. “They do nothing to enhance the security of the North Korean people. In fact, by providing a pretext for Washington’s military build-up in North East Asia as well as Japanese rearmament, North Korea’s actions only heighten the danger of a devastating war in the Asia Pacific region.”

Regardless of the international condemnation or their actions potentially bringing more instability rather than stability, for themselves and the region as a whole, North Korea will undoubtedly continue developing its nuclear program.

As the Times reports, Wednesday’s launch marked the sixth time North Korea has tested its nuclear SLBM capabilities since its first test-fire in May 2015. It was the third such SLBM test launch of a nuclear missile by North Korea this year alone.

[Photo by Getty Images]

Share this article: North Korea Claims New Nuclear Missile Could Strike Mainland U.S.
More from Inquisitr