The state-run daily Rodong Sinmun carried a front page photo in which Kim celebrated the success with military and party officials.
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“He noted with pride that the results of the test-fire proved in actuality that the DPRK joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability”.
“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”, he was quoted as saying.
The KCNA reported that the test was conducted “under a high-angle fire system in the maximum launching depth”, which it said “reconfirmed the stability of the underwater ballistic launching system”.
The meeting comes after the Security Council was unable to condemn a missile launch by the North earlier this month that landed near Japan because China wanted the statement to also oppose the planned deployment of a United States missile defence system in South Korea. Having that capability could significantly strengthen Pyongyang’s ability to conduct strikes on USA positions in South Korea, and possibly on US bases in Japan as well.
The UN met last night but is yet to publicly condemned the launch, which is effectively a test of Pyongyang’s nuclear strike capability.
Malaysian counselor Johan Ariff Abd Razak, whose country holds the council presidency, said Thursday the United States circulated a draft statement to members and China asked for more time to consider it.
He said the United States is drafting the text of a news statement “and we will have a look at it”. The success of this launch is likely to accelerate that timetable, but does not mean that North Korea will be able to deploy the missile immediately.
He urged the DPRK “to take steps necessary to de-escalate the situation and return to dialogue on denuclearization”.
State Department spokesman Elizabeth Trudeau said in a statement that the US strongly condemned the launch and called on North Korea to “refrain from actions and rhetoric that further raise tensions in the region”.
The submarine-launched ballistic missile, which North Korea has been developing for the past one year and eight months, rising out of the water on August 24, in a photo that appeared on pages 1-2 of the August 25 edition of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
“The U.S. commitment to the defense of our allies including the Republic of Korea and Japan in the face of these threats remains ironclad”, she said.
“North Korea launched one SLBM at 5:30 a.m. from an area near Sinpo, South Hamgyong Province, in the direct of the East Sea”, the joint chiefs statement read. “Those threats are coming closer each moment”.
The recent missile test was conducted near the North Korean port of Sinpo. “This is the very first time that North Korea’s rocket landed in Japan’s air defense recognition zone”.
It was previously said that the firing range of North Korea’s SLBMs is up to about 300 kilometers, even if they are fired successfully.
“A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile was successfully conducted under the guidance of supreme commander of the Korean People’s Army Kim Jong Un”, the North’s official KCNA news agency said.
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Outside experts say the North doesn’t yet have a reliable long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental USA, but they acknowledge the North has been making steady progress on its weapons programs and could one day acquire such a weapon.
