Throughout the year North Korea has been the focus of attention when it comes to Nuclear Weapons and it’s no different as the year ends, this time a missile test – launching a long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States.
As per the statement by South Korea’s military, it had detected the launch of a long-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area. The short-range missile was also launched from the Pyongyang area towards the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, the projectile flew for about 570km (354 miles) before falling into the ocean.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim Jong Un said the test showed how North Korea could respond if the United States were to make “a wrong decision against it.” Kim met troops from the General Missile Bureau to congratulate them on the launch of the developmental solid-fueled Hwasong-18 missile, the North’s newest and most powerful ICBM, Korean Central News Agency said.
In addition, this year Pyongyang has observed a record number of weapons tests, and it is said that it is all part of Kim’s vision to modernise North Korea’s military capabilities and reciprocation of the South Korean and US joint nuclear deterrence capabilities.
As per the White House statement, “Any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies is unacceptable and will result in the end of the Kim regime.”
Moreover, South Korea, the US and Japan are in discussions of sharing real-time missile warning data on North Korea and establishing details of their trilateral exercises in coming years, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.