North Korean propaganda outlets took a victory lap on Wednesday following the allegedly successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), claiming that dictator Kim Jong-un personally “meticulously guided the scientists and technicians in their busy preparations for the test-launch.”
Kim also allegedly joked the ICBM was a birthday present for the United States.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun regularly publish belligerent articles predicting ultimate doom for the United States and attributing outstanding intellect and physical prowess to dictator Kim, as they did with his predecessors, father Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung.
On Wednesday, the KCNA published an article describing Kim’s delight at organizing and watching the allegedly successful ICBM test. “Over a few days ahead of the test-launch, he frequented the place where the general drive for assembling the rocket was underway and meticulously guided the scientists and technicians in their busy preparations for the test-launch,” KCNA claimed.
“Feasting his eyes on the newly made inter-continental ballistic rocket Hwasong-14, he stressed that the protracted showdown with the U.S. imperialists has reached its final phase and it is the time for the DPRK to demonstrate its mettle to the U.S. which is testing its will in defiance of its warning,” the article continued.
Kim allegedly told his underlings that “the U.S. would be displeased to witness the DPRK’s strategic option as it was given a ‘package of gifts’ incurring its disfavor by the DPRK on its ‘Independence Day,’ calling on them to frequently send big and small ‘gift packages’ to the Yankees.” Kim wore a “broad smile on his face” contemplating his statements, the KCNA said.
The propaganda outlet also claimed that the missile in question could strike the U.S. mainland and that it represented “another brilliant victory” for the impoverished communist regime.
The Rodong Sinmun published images of the launch, including laughing photos of Kim Jong-un, celebrating scientists and soldiers and the rocket itself.
The newspaper also published an article on Wednesday citing Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda blaming the United States for the entirety of the Korean war, which it called “definitely a war of aggression the U.S. ignited by instigating the puppet army of [S]outh Korea.”
The international community has responded with disgust and outrage to the new missile test, which North Korea claims could launch a nuclear weapon towards the United States. U.S. regional allies, such as Japan and South Korea, and North Korea’s ally China, have all called for an end to the illegal nuclear weapons program. “The Chinese side opposes launches by the DPRK in violation of relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council,” spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters Tuesday.
“Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region and the world,” U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in response to the missile test. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has responded by pressuring the Chinese government to cut all economic ties to the North Korean regime. China is North Korea’s largest trade partner and responsible for generating much of North Korea’s tourism profits, used to prop up the Kim regime.
South Korean news agency Yonhap reports that South Korea and Japan have begun bilateral talks to discuss a reaction, and the United Nations has called for an emergency meeting to respond to the nation’s repeated violations of international law. “The South Korean government will discuss with council members, including the U.S., UNSC measures that correspond to North Korea’s provocation that are clearly in violation of (previous) UNSC resolutions,” the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.
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