'Tough Response Posture': North Korea Says Ballistic Missile Was Fired To Warn US, South Korea

North Korea said that it launched its largest Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Source : Getty

North Korea said that it launched its largest Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday, as reported by the news agency Reuters citing state media. The missile was fired during a drill to demonstrate a “tough response posture” to ongoing US and South Korean military drills.

The missile was launched from Pyongyang's airport. According to KCNA, it travelled up to a maximum altitude of 6,045 km (3,756 mi) and flew a distance of 1,000 km (621 mi) for just over 69 minutes after which it fell into the open sea. The missile launch did not pose a threat to the neighbouring countries.

North Korea released photos on Friday, in which Kim Jong Un can be seen watching the missile launch with his daughter, and it also included pictures from space apparently captured by the camera mounted on the missile. "The launching drill of the strategic weapon serves as an occasion to give a stronger warning to the enemies intentionally escalating the tension in the Korean peninsula while persistently resorting to irresponsible and reckless military threats," state news agency KCNA said.

North Korean ballistic missiles are banned under United Nations Security Council resolutions. The missile launch drew flak from governments in Seoul, Washington, and Tokyo. The forces of South Korea and the US began 11 days of joint drills on Monday, dubbed “Freedom Shield 23”, as reported by Reuters. The drills were held to tackle the growing threats from North Korea.

Kim accused the US and South Korea of increasing tensions with the military drills. According to KCNA, he "stressed the need to strike fear into the enemies, really deter war and reliably guarantee the peaceful life of our people and their struggle for socialist construction by irreversibly bolstering up the nuclear war deterrent.

China, which has a defense pact with North Korea, also blamed the United States for the tensions, saying that the tensions are caused by Washington's efforts to increase pressure on Pyongyang, as reported by Reuters. The Hwasong-17 is North Korea's biggest missile yet, and is the largest road-mobile, liquid-fuelled ICBM in the world. It is believed to have the range to potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to targets anywhere in the United States.