North Korea aims to have world’s strongest nuclear force: Kim Jong Un

Seoul:

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said his country aims to have the world’s strongest nuclear force as he promotes dozens of military officers involved in the recent launch of a new ballistic missile , state media reported on Sunday.

The announcement comes after Kim inspected a November 18 test of the Hwasong-17, North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and pledged to counter what he called nuclear threats Americans.

“North Korea’s ultimate goal is to possess the strongest strategic force in the world, the absolute strength unparalleled in the century,” Kim Jong Un said in the officer promotion order, adding that the strengthening the country’s nuclear capabilities would reliably protect dignity and sovereignty. of the state and the people.

He described the Hwasong-17 as “the most powerful strategic weapon in the world” and said it demonstrated North Korea’s determination and ability to eventually build the most powerful military in the world.

North Korean scientists made a “wonderful leap forward in the development of technology for mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles” and were expected to expand and strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrent capabilities at an extraordinarily rapid rate, also said Mr. Kim. .

Kim Jong Un was seen in photos posing with scientists, engineers and military officials involved in the test.

According to state media, these workers pledged to uphold the “absolute authority” of the party and Kim, and vowed that “our missiles will fly vigorously only in the direction indicated” by Kim Jong Un.

Capable of reaching the American mainland, the launch of the Hwasong-17 prompted the United States to seek a presidential statement from the United Nations Security Council to hold North Korea accountable for its missile tests, which are banned by the Security Council resolutions.

State media also showed Kim Jong Un’s daughter accompanying him as he reviewed the officers. His unexpected first appearance at the Hwasong-17 test raised the prospect that the leadership of the totalitarian state could shift to a fourth generation of Kims.

The powerful Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Congress of North Korea awarded the Hwasong-17 missile the title of “Hero of the DPRK and Medal of the Gold Star and Order of the National Flag 1st Class”, reported the official KCNA news agency in a separate statement, using the country’s initials. official name, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“(The missile) has clearly proved to the world that the DPRK is a full-fledged nuclear power capable of opposing the nuclear supremacy of the US imperialists and has fully demonstrated its power as the strongest ICBM state,” said KCNA.

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