SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea’s ultimate goal is to possess the most powerful nuclear force in the world, Kim Jong-un was quoted as saying by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency on Sunday.
The North Korean leader also promoted dozens of officials and scientists involved in the recent launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), KCNA reports.
The construction of the nuclear force aims to reliably protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people, and “its ultimate goal is to possess the most powerful strategic force in the world, the absolute force unprecedented in the course of this century,” said Kim Jong-un.
He called the Hwasong-17 missile “the most powerful strategic weapon in the world” and said it demonstrated North Korea’s determination and ability to eventually build the most powerful military in the world.
North Korean scientists have made a “tremendous leap forward in the development of technology for mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles,” the leader added, without giving details.
Kim Jong-un expects scientists, engineers, military officials and everyone involved in the test to continue to develop and strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrent at an exceptionally rapid pace, he said as they were posing for pictures.
The launch of the missile, capable of reaching the American continent, prompted the United States to request a presidential declaration from the United Nations Security Council in order to hold North Korea responsible for its tests, which are prohibited by the resolutions of the Security Council.
The Standing Committee of the Supreme People’s Congress of North Korea awarded the Hwasong-17 missile the title “Hero of the DPRK and the Gold Star Medal and National Flag Order First Class”, KCNA wrote in another statement, using the initials of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the country’s official name.
According to the official news agency, “the missile clearly proved to the whole world that the DPRK is a full-fledged nuclear power.”
(Report Josh Smith; French version Kate Entringer)