Long-range North Korean test missile 'designed to strike US' splashes down near Japan
ABCNorth Korea has test-launched a suspected new long-range missile, which South Korea says was designed to strike the continental United States. North Korea's Kim Jong Un says country will increase number of nuclear weapons Photo shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stands at a podium with microphones Kim Jong Un said North Korea is facing a "grave threat" from what it said was a US-led nuclear-based military bloc in the region. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea about 7:10am and that the weapon flew towards the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. South Korea's military intelligence agency told politicians on Wednesday that North Korea was close to test-firing a long-range missile capable of reaching the US and had also likely completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test. On Wednesday, local time, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said North Korean troops wearing Russian uniforms and carrying Russian equipment were moving towards Ukraine, in what he called a dangerous and destabilising development.