Pyongyang says latest launch was a new intercontinental ballistic missile, Seoul imposes new sanctions
North Korean authorities have said Friday that the intercontinental ballistic missile launched on Thursday was a new type of projectile of this type, which has led the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, to praise that Pyongyang is in “an irreversible hegemonic position” in the development of nuclear weapons.
According to information collected by the North Korean state news agency, KCNA, the missile fired on this occasion is a ‘Hwasongpho-19’, which traveled at a maximum altitude of about 7,690 kilometers and traveled more than a thousand kilometers before hitting the target set by Pyongyang, without “negative effects on the security of neighboring countries.”
In this regard, Kim expressed his “great satisfaction” at the “successful” launch of this “new intercontinental ballistic missile” and stressed that “it shows the world that the hegemonic position achieved by North Korea in the development and manufacture of nuclear means is absolutely irreversible.”
“As we have seen recently, the dangerous reinforcement of the nuclear alliance by the enemies and their risky military maneuvers underlines the importance of strengthening our nuclear forces,” he argued, before defending that “the only peace” is one that “guarantees the security and the future of the State and the people of North Korea,” for which it is necessary to “deter the enemy.”
Kim himself stated on Thursday that the launch of this missile towards the waters of the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, was an “appropriate military action,” amid the increase in tensions with South Korea and accusations about the alleged deployment of North Korean military personnel in Russia.
For its part, South Korean authorities have announced new sanctions against eleven North Korean individuals and four entities in response to the aforementioned launch, according to the South Korean Foreign Ministry, which has said that this action “threatens peace and security on the Korean peninsula.”
“The Government firmly condemns these provocative actions by North Korea and points out that North Korea has once again violated the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by sending troops to the illegal Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and launching an intercontinental ballistic missile on October 31,” it explained.
In this regard, it has deepened that Seoul “has made it clear that there will be consequences for North Korea’s provocations” and that “it will continue to work closely with the international community to ensure that North Korea is aware of this fact, stops its provocations and returns to the path of denuclearization.”
