黑料社

SEOUL, South Korea 鈥� North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he would respond to US threats with nuclear weapons, state media said Saturday, after Kim personally oversaw Pyongyang鈥檚 latest launch of intercontinental ballistic missile.

Since Kim declared North Korea an 鈥渋rreversible鈥� nuclear state in September, Washington has ramped up regional security cooperation, including joint military exercises, and is looking for ways to boost the protection it offers Seoul and Tokyo.

Kim slammed what he called 鈥渁ggression war drills鈥� and said that if America continues to make threats against the North, Pyongyang 鈥渨ill resolutely react to nukes with nuclear weapons and to total confrontation with all-out confrontation,鈥� KCNA reported.

KCNA said that Kim attended the launch 鈥渢ogether with his beloved daughter and wife鈥� and state media images showed a beaming Kim walking in front of a giant black-and-white missile, accompanied by an adoring young girl in a puffer jacket and red shoes.

It is extremely rare for state media to mention Kim鈥檚 children, and this is believed to be one of the first official confirmations of his daughter, experts said.

North Korea has conducted a record-breaking blitz of launches in recent weeks, which Pyongyang 鈥� and some allies including Moscow 鈥� have repeatedly blamed on the US boosting regional security cooperation, including joint military exercises.

The Friday launch was of the country鈥檚 鈥渘ew-type ICBM鈥� the Hwasong-17, KCNA said, adding that the 鈥渢est-fire clearly proved the reliability of the new major strategic weapon system.鈥�

鈥淜im Jong Un said he came to confirm once again that the nuclear forces of the DPRK have secured another reliable and maximum capacity to contain any nuclear threat,鈥� it added.

KCNA said the missile traveled 鈥渦p to a maximum altitude of 6,040.9 km and flew a distance of 999.2 km鈥� before 鈥渁ccurately landing on the preset area鈥� in the East Sea, or Sea of Japan.

The distance and altitude match the estimates given by Seoul and Tokyo on Friday and are only slightly less than the ICBM Pyongyang fired on March 24, which appeared to be the North鈥檚 most powerful such test yet.

North Korea also claimed its March 24 launch was also of a Hwasong-17 鈥� one of Kim鈥檚 largest weapons, dubbed the 鈥渕onster missile鈥� by analysts 鈥� but Seoul later cast doubt on that claim.

But this time, analysts said it seemed the North had succeeded.

鈥淭he Hwasong-17 is the largest road-mobile liquid-propellant missile ever designed and tested anywhere, so the North Koreans set a record of a sort with this successful flight-test,鈥� said North Korea expert Ankit Panda on Twitter.

North Korea has fired scores of ballistic missiles this year 鈥� far more than any other year on record 鈥� and recent launches have been increasingly provocative, including firing a missile over Japan last month, triggering a rare air raid warning.

On November 2, Pyongyang fired 23 missiles, including one which crossed the de facto maritime border and landed near the South鈥檚 territorial waters for the first time since the end of hostilities in the Korean War in 1953. Seoul called it 鈥渆ffectively a territorial invasion鈥�.

The next day, North Korea fired an ICBM 鈥� although Seoul said it appeared to fail mid-flight.

The most significant takeaway from Friday鈥檚 ICBM launch is 鈥渢he permanence of the Kim regime鈥檚 weapons program because it is so integral to Kim鈥檚 own survival and the continuity of his family鈥檚 reign,鈥� Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst now with the RAND Corporation, told AFP.

鈥淭his even addresses some of the curiosity and questions surrounding succession,鈥� she said.

鈥淲e have seen with our own eyes the fourth generation of the Kim family. And his daughter 鈥� along with potential other siblings 鈥� will surely be groomed by her father.鈥�

READ: N. Korea warns of 鈥榮ecurity crisis鈥� if US, S. Korea escalate tensions