North Korea\u2019s young dictator issued several disconcerting warnings to the West in his New Year\u2019s Day address Sunday.
Kim Jong-un vowed to strengthen North Korea\u2019s nuclear capabilities and claimed the country is on track to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
\u201cUnless the U. S. and its vassal forces stop nuclear threat and blackmail and unless they stop the war exercises which they stage right at our noses under the pretext of annual exercises, the DPRK would keep increasing the military capabilities for self-defense and preemptive striking capacity with nuclear force as a pivot,\u201d Kim explained .
He declared the North \u201ca nuclear and military power in the East\u201d and promised to build North Korea into an \u201cinvincible fortress.\u201d
North Korea has conducted five nuclear tests and numerous missile tests, in violation of international regulations and restrictions, over the past decade, but it has never flight-tested an ICBM.
\u201cWe have reached the final stage of preparations to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile,\u201d Kim said . \u201cResearch and development of cutting edge arms equipment is actively progressing,\u201d he added .
While the North has not yet tested an ICBM, experts believe the satellite launch in February 2016, just after North Korea\u2019s fourth nuclear test, was a test of ICBM technology in disguise. South Korean defense officials said that the rocket, were it reconfigured as an ICBM, could strike targets over 7,000 miles away, putting the U. S. in range.
Pyongyang claimed in April 2016 that it successfully tested a long-range missile engine that would \u201cguarantee\u201d the ability to launch a nuclear strike on the U. S. Kim said the North \u201ccan tip new-type intercontinental ballistic rockets with more powerful nuclear warheads and keep any cesspools of evils in the Earth, including the U. S. mainland, within our striking range.\u201d
The North announced in September last year that it had carried out another long-range rocket engine test capable of advancing its space and satellite program. The rocket engine test is also suspected to have been a cover for the testing of banned ICBM technology.
It is unclear how close the North is to actually testing an ICBM. North Korea conducted eight intermediate-range missile tests last year with only one reported success.
Suspected North Korean ICBMs KN-08 and KN-14 are untested.
North Korea has been under United Nations sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile tests since 2006. Harsher sanctions were implemented recently after the North\u2019s fifth nuclear test in early September last year.
\u201cWe call on all states to use every available channel and means of influence to make clear to the DPRK and its enablers that launches using ballistic missile technology are unacceptable, and take steps to show there are consequences to the DPRK\u2019s unlawful conduct,\u201d U. S. Department of State spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen told Yonhap News Agency.
She encouraged Pyongyang \u201cto refrain from provocative actions and inflammatory rhetoric that threaten international peace and stability.\u201d
South Korea also criticized the North for its continued pursuit of ICBMs and enhanced nuclear capabilities.
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