The North Korean government announced on Sunday that it had conducted a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile as a warning to the United States and South Korea. The North Korean government said the successful "surprise" drill demonstrated Pyongyang's "capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack."
The North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave the order for the "sudden launching drill" at 8:00 am (2300 GMT) on Saturday. According to the official KCNA news agency, a Hwasong-15 missile was launched from Pyongyang airport in the afternoon of the same day. This particular weapon was tested for the first time by the North in 2017.
The military of South Korea has stated that it detected an intercontinental ballistic missile launch at 17:22 (0822 GMT) on Saturday. Japan has stated that the missile flew for 66 minutes before splashing down in its Exclusive Economic Zone, and their analysis indicates that it was able to hit the mainland of the United States.
The North Korean leadership lauded the test, which was the nation's first in seven weeks, saying it demonstrated "the actual war capacity of the ICBM units which are ready for mobile and mighty counterattack." KCNA reported that the North Korean government conducted the test.
According to the statement, the launch served as "actual proof" that the nation possessed the "capacity of fatal nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces."
The violation of the sanctions took place just a few days before South Korea and the United States were scheduled to begin joint tabletop exercises designed to improve their ability to respond in the event that North Korea launched a nuclear attack.The previous week, Pyongyang issued a warning that it would respond to upcoming US-South Korea drills with a "unprecedentedly" strong force. Pyongyang views the upcoming drills as preparations for war and blames them for the deteriorating security situation on the Korean peninsula.
