North Korea has been sharing more details about its biggest ever missile test, including a suitably cinematic clip showing Kim Jong-un guiding the launch.
Yesterday, 24 March, saw the debut of North Korea's Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile - the largest missile the country has ever launched - marking its first ICBM test since 2017.
As with any significant missile test over the last decade, Supreme Leader Kim was on site to oversee the process, with North Korean news agency overnight releasing a number of images of Kim watching the launch, as well as a short trailer-style montage of him guiding preparations that truly has to be seen to be believed.
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Check out the video below:
The propaganda clip has everything - Kim Jong-un walking out of an airport hangar in Top Gun-style slow motion? Check. Zoomed-in shots of the massive missile? Yep. A 20-second montage of Kim and his generals checking their watches? You bet. Yet more slow motion footage of military officials shouting 'fire'? That too. A Thunderbirds-esque launch sequence followed by more slow motion shots of an ecstatic Kim? It. Has. Everything.
The successful ICBM test marks a significant new achievement for North Korea's nuclear weapons development. In a statement reported by the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, Kim labelled the new missile a 'powerful tool for nuclear attack,' adding that the 'Strategic Force of the DPRK is fully ready to thoroughly check and contain any dangerous military attempt of the US imperialists.'
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"The new strategic weapon of the DPRK will clearly show the might of our strategic force to the whole world once again," he said.
According to South Korean and Japanese defense officials, yesterday's ICBM test flew for over an hour, reaching an altitude of 6,000km and travelling 1,080km before falling into waters off the coast of northern Japan.
South Korea, Japan and the United States have all condemned the launch, with the White House last night announcing a new round of sanctions against the economically-isolated country and calling on it to 'immediately cease its destabilising actions.'
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North Korea is banned from conducting ballistic missile and nuclear tests under a number of UN security council resolutions, which it does not recognise as legitimate. The ICBM test comes months after Kim announced his country would no longer be observing a self-imposed moratorium on testing introduced in 2017.
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Topics: North Korea, Kim Jong-un, World News
Hannah Smith