North Korea’s Kim personally oversaw ICBM launch, state media says
Al JazeeraLaunch of solid-fuel Hwasong-18 sends ‘clear signal to the hostile forces’, Korean Central News Agency says. North Korea has confirmed that it tested its most powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile as a warning to the United States, with leader Kim Jong Un personally overseeing the launch. Kim said the launch of the Hwasong-18 on Monday sent a “clear signal to the hostile forces” and “set forth some important new tasks” for the development of the country’s nuclear arsenal, the state Korean Central News Agency said on Tuesday. “The successful drill is a practical demonstration of the actual condition and reliability of the formidable striking capabilities and absolute nuclear war deterrent possessed by the DPRK’s armed forces,” Kim was quoted as saying, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. North Korea’s Defence Ministry on Sunday hit back at the allies’ plans to include a nuclear operation drill in their annual joint military exercises next year, labelling the move “an open declaration on nuclear confrontation”.