Anchor: North Korea’s media confirmed that the missile Pyongyang fired on Wednesday was a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) propelled by solid fuel. The media revealed photos of the North Korean leader and his wife overseeing the launch.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.

Report: North Korea’s state-run media, including the Korean Central News Agency, said on Thursday that the North test-fired a Hwasong-18 ICBM the previous day in the presence of leader Kim Jong-un.

According to media reports, the missile flew one-thousand-one kilometers for 74 minutes and 51 seconds up to a maximum altitude of six-thousand-648-point-four kilometers before hitting a pre-set area in the open waters of the East Sea. The missile’s flight time broke the previous record of 71 minutes posted during a missile launch on March 24 of last year.

The altitude of over six-thousand kilometers has led to calculations that the Hwasong-18 has a maximum range of more than 15-thousand kilometers if launched at a standard angle, capable of hitting any part of the U.S. mainland.

Wednesday marked the second time Pyongyang has test-fired a Hwasong-18 ICBM since April.

The North Korean media said Kim inspected the launch on-site together with First Lady Ri Sol-ju.

As he oversaw the launch, the reclusive leader vowed to continuously engage in a strong military offensive until what he termed “the U.S. imperialists and South Korean puppet traitors” admit defeat and abandon their hostile policies toward the North.

The media said the latest launch was aimed at protecting the nation’s safety and peace in the region from the calamities of a nuclear war. The reports added that the launch was part of efforts to strengthen the North’s right to self-defense in a bid to thoroughly repress the dangerous military activities of enemy forces.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.

[Photo : KBS News]