North Korea’s Kim Jong-un vows to keep developing ‘formidable striking capabilities’ to tackle ‘threats by imperialists’

According to state media, the leader made the comments during a meeting with workers involved in the country’s biggest intercontinental ballistic missile test

However, intelligence officials in Seoul and Washington believe the North last week actually launched an older and slightly smaller ICBM

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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with military officials during the launch of the Hwasong-17 ICBM on March 24. Photo: KCNA via Reuters

Published: 8:47am, 28 Mar 2022Updated: 8:48am, 28 Mar 2022

North Korea will continue to develop “formidable striking capabilities” that cannot be bartered or sold for anything, leader Kim Jong-un said, according to state media on Monday, as he visited workers involved with the country’s biggest missile test.

Kim was meeting with officials, scientists, technicians and workers who contributed to a missile launch on Thursday, which North Korea said was its largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state news agency KCNA reported.

“Only when one is equipped with the formidable striking capabilities, overwhelming military power that cannot be stopped by anyone, one can prevent a war, guarantee the security of the country and contain and put under control all threats and blackmails by the imperialists,” Kim said, according to the report.

While personally overseeing the test on Thursday, Kim said the new ICBM was to help deter any military moves by the United States, which remains technically at war with the North after the 1950-1953 Korean war ended in an armistice rather than a peace agreement.

Washington has sought to pressure Pyongyang into surrendering or reducing its arsenal of nuclear weapons and ICBMs, which may be able to strike targets in the US.

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