Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
North Korea that has been testing different missiles this year has now passed a law declaring itself to be a ‘nuclear weapons state.’ And this has brought worries on the face of many world leaders.
According to North Korea state media reports leader Kim Jong-un has ruled out the possibility of any talks on denuclearisation. The law says country has the right to use a pre-emptive nuclear strike to protect itself. This is being seen as a major point for the world to consider as the missiles range long distance and many countries fall in that distance. Pyongyang has conducted six nuclear tests between 2006 and 2017.
Experts say North Korea appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing after summits with then US President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 failed to persuade Kim to abandon his weapons development programmes.
It has continued to advance its military capability – in breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions – to threaten its neighbours and potentially even bring the US mainland within striking range.
North Korea has been conducting regular missile tests as part of its weapons development programme. Hypersonic as well as short-range, intermediate-range and long-range ballistic missiles have all been tested since the start of the year.
On several occasions pictures of Kim Jong-un were released with his hands on the missile button in the international media. The latest test was of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). If confirmed, this would be the first time an ICBM has been fired since 2017, breaking Pyongyang’s self-imposed moratorium on such tests.
North Korea’s Hwasong-14 has a potential range of 8,000km – although some studies suggested it could travel as far as 10,000km if fired on a maximum trajectory. This would give Pyongyang its first truly intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching New York.
Over the development, the White House has said its attempts to contact North Korean leader had gone unanswered. Tension on the Korean peninsula have spiked this year with Pyongyang firing a record number of ballistic missiles. South Korea and the US have responded with a volley of missiles and the largest joint military exercises on peninsula in years.
