Kim Jong-un: North in Final Stages of Preparing to Test-Fire ICBM
Anchor: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said his country is in the final preparation stage to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM). Experts say Pyongyang is expected to launch strategic provocations in the first half of this year to prove its ICBM capability.
Our Kim In-kyung has more.
Report: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un says his country is in the "final stages" of preparing to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM).
In a televised New Year’s speech on Sunday, Kim touted the advancements of the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities.
[Sound bite: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Korean)]
"We have successfully conducted a nuclear warhead explosion test and have great military security, including being in the final stages of preparations to test-launch an ICBM."
While threatening its ability to reach the continental United States, Kim said that the North should develop more weapons and vowed to continue to reinforce self-defense capabilities unless its enemies halt war rehearsals.
Kim also explicitly named President Park Geun-hye and criticized her.
[Sound bite: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (Korean)]
"We must crush anti-unification forces in and out of the country. We must do something so that this year becomes remembered for opening a new chapter toward independent reunification."
North Korea experts like Professor Nam Sung-wook of Korea University say Pyongyang is highly likely to test-fire an ICBM this year.
[Sound bite: Professor Nam Sung-wook – North Korean Studies, Korea University (Korean)]
"I believe [the North] will test its reentry technology again in the first half of this year to flaunt that its missiles can fly to the U.S. mainland."
Former NIS deputy director and North Korea specialist at Kyonggi University Nam Joo-hong said the North is expected to interfere in the South's presidential election, taking advantage of the political confusion induced by Park's impeachment ordeal.
[Sound bite: Professor Nam Joo-hong - Graduate School of Politics and Policy, Kyonggi University (Korean)]
"[Kim Jong-un] has virtually given orders for operations to trigger conflict within the South. This is a very bad sign."
The South Korean government also expects that the North will launch strategic provocations this year, which coincides with variables such as the inauguration of the Trump administration in the U.S., a presidential election in South Korea and the 105th anniversary of the North's founder Kim Il-sung's birthday.
The Unification Ministry urged the North to immediately halt meddling in the South's domestic affairs, criticizing the president and shifting responsibility for the strain in Seoul-Pyongyang relations.
Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.
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