Kim Jong-un Warns of More Powerful Weapons Coming
North Korea had just been confirmed to have launched at least one ballistic missile on Monday, May 29, in the latest round of missile tests conducted by the country in the face of threats from its neighbors and the rest of the world against such displays.
The short-range missile landed in the waters off the eastern coast of North Korea, according to a report by Reuters. The missile was believed to be one of the Scud-class ballistic missiles, originally designed by the Soviet Union, which the reclusive state has kept in its stockpile. The missile launched on Monday has been observed to have flown a range of 450 kilometers (280 miles) before splashing down in the sea off North Korea's east coast.
Roh Jae-cheon, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, noted that this could be North Korea's way to demonstrate their disregard for international pressure to drop its missile weapons development. It could also be a way "to pressure the (South Korean) government to change its policy on the North," Roh said.
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North Korea's official KCNA news agency claimed on Tuesday, May 30, that Kim Jong-un supervised the test launch of their new ballistic missile. The missile seen on Monday was said to be an improvement of the "Hwasong" scud-class missile, with advanced automated pre-launch sequence systems, KCNA said as quoted by Reuters.
The news agency for the reclusive state also quoted their leader Kim saying that the country will develop more advanced weapons. "He expressed the conviction that it would make a greater leap forward in this spirit to send a bigger 'gift package' to the Yankees," KCNA said, quoting Kim.
This new move could be a response to what they consider as a provocation by the American military, as North Korea earlier alleged that the United States staged a drill aimed at preparing for a possible nuclear strike on the Korean peninsula.
