North Korea: missile test is a warning to the US North Korea: missile test is a warning to the US

North Korea has said the recent ICBM test was a warning to the US and South Korea about their ongoing military exercises. Ruler Kim Jong-un led the test on Thursday, stressing the need to “instill fear in the enemy,” state media reported on Friday. Kim accused the US and South Korea of ​​open hostility.

According to the reports, the Hwasongpho-17 ICBM test was intended as a nuclear deterrent. It was also intended as “a stronger warning to the enemy”. The missile is the largest ICBM in its own arsenal. Intercontinental ballistic missiles, which have a range of more than 5,500 kilometers, are considered the primary means of delivering nuclear weapons. Highly isolated North Korea is barred by UN decrees from testing ICBMs and other ballistic missiles.

The missile was launched from Pyongyang International Airport and flew about 1,000 kilometers towards the open sea, it said. It landed in the target area in the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The test was in response to “the wild, provocative and aggressive major war exercises” between the United States and South Korea. Both countries deny North Korea’s accusation that their joint maneuvers served as preparation for an attack.

The missile test was captured by the South Korean military on Thursday, hours before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol began a visit to Japan. In Tokyo, Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida called for closer security cooperation between their countries and the United States. Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated significantly since last year. North Korea has expanded the scope of its missile tests. The US and South Korea resume large-scale military exercises. (sda/dpa)