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| North Korea's Pukguksong-2 Ballistic Missile test launch |
North Korea warned Wednesday it was prepared to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) at any time, as the US successfully tested a system designed to intercept them.
The fresh sabre-rattling from Pyongyang appeared to up the stakes as the Pentagon announced Tuesday it had intercepted a mock-up of an ICMB in a first-of-its-kind test.
The success of the test is a watershed moment for the US military's effort to establish an effective -- though limited -- ground-based defence against ICBMs as the North ramps up its threats.
"We're prepared to test-fire ICMBs anywhere and anytime on orders from the supreme commander (Kim Jong-Un)", the Rodong Sinmun paper said in the article entitled: "No one can stop the nuclear power state, rocketry master in the East".
The paper added: "The United States must know our declaration that we can turn the devils' den into ashes with nuclear weapons is not an empty threat."
Concern among the international community over the North's weapons programme was further raised after North Korea test-fired yet another ballistic missile, the latest in a series of launches that have ratcheted up tensions over Pyongyang's quest to develop weapons capable of hitting the United States.
Read the full story at SpaceDaily