Seoul, South Korea (CNN)North Korean leader Kim Jong Un considers Wednesday's test firing of a submarine-based ballistic missile the "greatest success and victory," the country's state-run news agency reported.
"He (Kim Jong Un) noted with pride that the results of the test-fire proved in actuality that the DPRK joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability," the Korean Central News Agency said Thursday.
The US mainland and its "operational theater in the Pacific" are now within North Korea's "striking range," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
The South Korean military said earlier that North Korea fired a missile that flew 500 kilometers before falling into the waters of Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
The South Koreans did not comment on whether the test was successful.
This was the first time a North Korean missile entered Japan's air defense identification zone, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
The launch comes amid the annual joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea, which kicked off on Monday.
The annual drill includes 25,000 US troops, the bulk of which are already stationed in Korea, according to a statement by US Forces Korea.
1 ****ing test launch and its deemed "a great success and victory"
Last time I checked, Russia, China and the United States had the longest-range missiles and they're NOT team NK!
Quote:
Compared to previous tests, Wednesday's missile is seen as "an improvement," according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff. The United States and South Korea are closely analyzing the details.
Dr. Daniel A. Pinkston, a professor at Troy University, told CNN the fact that the rocket traveled as far as it did suggests the North Koreans are "making quite rapid progress, and probably more rapid progress than any people had predicted."
it's probably a good improvement from their... earlier attempts
y'all "ing" at the US having more. like y'all know even using 15% of the US's nuclear misses would plunge the world into a nuclear winter. and you know that would kill the majority of the earths pop. but do you.
