© KCNA / ReutersTest launch medium long-range ballistic rocket Hwasong-10.
Pyongyang aims to develop a
nuclear warhead placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the US by the end of 2017 or early 2018, a former N. Korean diplomat said. Earlier, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced in his New Year's message that
preparations for a test-launch of ICBMs were in the 'final stage.'"North Korea has set the goal of developing
miniaturized nuclear weapons that can fit atop a missile capable of reaching the US by the end of 2017 or early 2018
as it takes into account political transitions in South Korea and the US," Thae Yong-ho, former North Korean diplomat who defected in July and currently lives in London, told Yonhap. He said that a lot will
depend on Seoul and Washington's response."Kim's message indicates that North Korea
has completed the development of mid-range missiles with only [tests of] ICBMs being left. It throws questions to Seoul and Washington over what they will do," Thae said. Thae Yong-ho was North Korea's deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom prior to defecting with his wife and two sons to South Korea in 2016.
Later on Sunday, North Korea claimed it could test launch an ICBM at
any time from any location. "The ICBM will be launched anytime and anywhere determined by the supreme headquarters of the DPRK [the Democratic People's Republic of Korea]," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said, as cited by KCNA news agency.
Kim's statement on Pyongyang's development of ICBMs during a televised New Year's message made headlines on January 1. "Research and development of cutting-edge arms equipment is actively progressing, and ICBM rocket test launch preparation is in its last stage," Kim said.
The situation on the Korean peninsula
has worsened since the recent announcement by the US of the deployment of
THAAD missile systems to neighboring South Korea, and the arrival of the
USS Pennsylvania ballistic-missile submarine on the US territory of Guam. North Korea is actively developing its nuclear and missile capabilities to
counter perceivedmilitary threats from the US and its Asian allies. Pyongyang accuses Washington and Seoul of holding
annual joint military drills to prepare for war and has repeatedly said that it is ready to
battle the US "with nuclear hammers of justice." In September, Pyongyang stated that it had conducted its fifth nuclear test, announcing it is
now capable of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic rockets.
The
September test appears to be the
most powerful in the history of North Korea's nuclear program (20-30 kilotons), according to estimates from South Korea's Defense Ministry and data from various universities across the globe. The yield from the previous January 2016 test was about 6-10 kilotons. Earlier tests were conducted in 2013 (6-16 kilotons), 2009 (2-5 kilotons), and 2006 (1-2 kilotons).
North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006, when the Security Council prohibited the provision of large-scale arms, nuclear technology, and related training to Pyongyang.
Comment: Regardless that the THAAD missile system is really aimed at Russia and China and is ineffective for countering N. Korean assaults, N. Korea has a legitimate stake in upping the game. When the US threatens other countries with bases, troops, equipment, weaponry, drills and patrols, others are mandated to counter with protective and aggressive upgrades in response. It becomes a spiral with no end. Until it does. Reboot humanity, lesson not learned.
See also: Pyongyang's threat of ICBM rocket test launch: Trump declares 'Won't happen!'