SEOUL: North Korea likely has “more in store” after successfully test-firing its largest-ever intercontinental ballistic missile this week, a top US official said.
Thursday’s launch was the first time Pyongyang has fired Kim Jong Un’s most powerful missiles at the full range since 2017.
It was conducted under Kim’s “direct guidance”, and ensures his country is ready for “long-standing confrontation” with the United States, state media outlet KCNA reported Friday.
“We see this as part of a pattern of testing and provocation from North Korea… we think there is likely more in store,” White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters travelling on board Air Force One with President Joe Biden.
The missile appears to have travelled higher and further than any previous ICBM tested by the nuclear-armed country — including one designed to strike anywhere on the US mainland.
The Group of Seven nations and the EU called North Korea’s latest launches a “blatant violation” of the country’s obligations under UN Security Council resolutions in a joint statement Friday condemning the country’s “reckless actions”.
