North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that his country intends to be the world’s most powerful nuclear power as he promoted dozens of military officers involved in the recent launch of a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state media has reported.
“North Korea’s ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century,” Kim said in the order promoting the officers, adding that building up the country’s nuclear capabilities would reliably protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people.
The announcement came after Kim oversaw the November 18 test of the Hwasong-17, North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), and vowed to counter US nuclear threats.
Describing the Hwasong-17 as the “world’s strongest strategic weapon”, Kim said, it demonstrated North Korea’s resolve and ability to eventually build the world’s strongest army.
The ICBM launch on November 18 has been condemned by members of the United Nations Security Council, who called it “a serious escalation” and an “unequivocal threat to international peace and security”. The launch is part of an ongoing blitz of North Korean tests this year that have included the firing of cruise missiles as well as dozens of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.
Capable of reaching the US mainland, the launch of the Hwasong-17 prompted the United States to seek a UN Security Council presidential statement to hold North Korea accountable for its missile tests, which are banned by Security Council resolutions.
In a separate report, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also said North Korea’s powerful Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly awarded the Hwasong-17 missile the title of “DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Hero and Gold Star Medal and Order of National Flag 1st Class”.
“[Hwasong-17] clearly proved to the world that the DPRK [North Korea ] is a full-fledged nuclear power capable of standing against the nuclear supremacy of the US imperialists and fully demonstrated its might as the most powerful ICBM state,” the KCNA said.
(With inputs from Reuters)
