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

Asia-Pacific, News November 29, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jung Un said that his country aims to become the world’s strongest nuclear force.

Kim’s statement came on November 27, 2022, during a ceremony where he promoted dozens of North Korean military officers who were involved in the launch of a new ballistic missile.

Earlier this week, Kim Jung Un inspected the new Hwasongpho-17 ballistic missile developed by the North Korean military, which is one of the largest Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) that North Korea has produced so far. Kim described the Hwasongpho-17 as the “world’s strongest strategic weapon” and said it demonstrated North Korea’s resolve and ability to eventually build the world’s strongest army.

While inspecting the new missile, Kim was accompanied by his daughter, believed to be named Kim Chu-Ae. This was the first time that North Korea’s leader has appeared with his young daughter in public. Several photos were published by North Korea’s state news agency KCNA, showing the two holding hands while they chat, speaking with officials, inspecting missiles, and watching the launch from a viewing deck.

While delivering a speech at the promotion ceremony on November 27, Kim applauded North Korean scientists and said that they have made a “wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles.” He also said that with the help of these scientists, North Korea would expand and strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrent capabilities at an extraordinarily rapid pace.

^{North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with his daughter (second from left) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (third from left), on the day of the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in this photo released on November 19, 2022, by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (Image Credit: KCNA/via Reuters)}

North Korea’s Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Assembly awarded the Hwasongpho-17 missile the title of “DPRK Hero and Gold Star Medal and Order of National Flag 1st Class”. The Hwasongpho-17 is a nuclear-capable ballistic missile that can reach the U.S. mainland. The missile launch prompted the U.S. to launch a request at the United Nations Security Council, in order to hold North Korea accountable for its missile tests, which are banned by Security Council resolutions.

North Korea’s state-owned media outlet, KCNA reported that the missile has “clearly proved before the world that the DPRK is a full-fledged nuclear power capable of standing against the nuclear supremacy of the U.S. imperialists and fully demonstrated its might as the most powerful ICBM state.” The report further stated that the test fire demonstrates that North Korea will react in kind to “the enemy’s nuke and full-frontal confrontation.”

Hwasonngpho-17 is not the first long-range ICBM that has been tested by North Korea this year. Pyongyang launched an ICBM in March 2022, for the first time since 2017. The current ICBM’s range is about 100 kilometers shorter than the one tested earlier this year.

^{North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile with his daughter in this photo released on November 19, 2022, by North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency. (Image Credit: KCNA/via Reuters)}

The recent missile test by North Korea was criticized by the United States and its regional allies including Japan and South Korea. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in Thailand to attend the APEC meeting, said that the U.S. asked its allies and partners to consult on the next steps and take a joint approach to the crisis. Harris said that North Korea’s most recent test is “a brazen violation of multiple UN Security resolutions. It destabilizes security in the region and unnecessarily raises tensions.”

Earlier on November 9, 2022, the chiefs of defense from South Korea and the U.S. met at the Pentagon for the 54th Security Consultative Meeting and warned North Korea that the use of any kind of nuclear weapon against Seoul or other regional allies would “result in the end of Kim Jong Un’s regime.”