DPRK warns US of nuclear deterrence if it continues 'hostile policy'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Jul 2023 16:07

Kim Yo Jong described the latest launch of the ICBM missile as an exercise of self-defense.

DPRK's Hwasong-12 ballistic missile is paraded across Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017. (AP)

Member of the State Affairs Commission of the DPRK and Kim Jong Un's sister, Kim Yo Jong, said on Friday that unless the US ceases to carry out its "hostile policy" against the DPRK, Pyongyang will unleash "overwhelming nuclear deterrence."

This comes after the DPRK fired its latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch as an act of self-defense on Wednesday after the US violated the country's airspace several times over the week.

On Thursday, state media of the DPRK reported that it successfully conducted a missile test of the ICBM solid-fuel Hwasong-18.

The missile flew 1,001 kilometers (622 miles) at a maximum altitude of 6,648 km, before splashing into the Sea of Japan.

Analysts said that the trajectory of the missile suggests it has the capability of reaching the mainland of the US.

"Under the premise that the US doesn't accept dropping its anti-North Korea policy... We will strive hard to establish the most overwhelming nuclear deterrence," Kim Yo Jong said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

She further described the launch as an "exercise of self-defense... to protect the Korean peninsula from falling into a nuclear warfare", noting that no one could blame Pyongyang in the face of Washington's "hostile policy".

The UN Security Council issued a joint statement written by 10 out of 15 members, condemning the latest launch and saying that all 20 launches of ballistic missiles in 2023 were "blatant violations of multiple Security Council resolutions".

Kim Yo Jong responded to the statement by saying its content is "unfair and biased."

On Monday, the DPRK accused a US spy plane of violating the DPRK's airspace and continued to decry US plans to deploy a nuclear missile submarine near the Korean peninsula.

A spokesperson for the DPRK Ministry of National Defense released a statement that the US had "intensified espionage activities beyond the wartime level," citing "provocative" spy plane flights over a period of eight consecutive days this month.

"There is no guarantee that such a shocking accident as the downing of the US Air Force strategic reconnaissance plane will not happen in the East Sea of Korea," the spokesperson added.