Skip to main content

North Korea claims its missiles can hit US mainland



North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday said his country's second flight test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) showed it could hit the U.S. mainland.
Kim expressed "great satisfaction" after the Hwasong-14 missile travelled 620 miles and reached a top height of 2,314 miles before landing in water off Japan's coast, Korean Central News Agency said, according The Associated Press.
The state news agency said the test was intended to confirm technical aspects of the missile, such as its range, and it could be used to deliver a "large-sized, heavy nuclear warhead."
Kim was quoted by the state news agency saying that the test put the "entire" U.S. mainland now in range for a missile and underscored the country's ability to fire at "random regions and locations at random times," according to the AP.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command had determined that the missile did not pose a threat to North America, but some analysts said the test appeared to show that swaths of the U.S. were in range of North Korean weapons.
The nonprofit Union of Concerned Scientists said that if the missile fired Friday reached the height and flight time that is estimated, it could have a theoretical range of at least 6,500 miles, meaning that depending on the size and weight of the warhead it could reach cities such as Los Angeles, Denver or Chicago.
The U.S. and South Korea fired missiles into waters off the South Korean coast on Friday in a show of force to North Korea following its missile test. The U.S. and South Korea conducted a similar test on July 5, in response to North Korea's launch of an ICBM on July 4.
President Trump on Friday evening condemned North Korea's latest launch, saying such tests "further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people."
"The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region," he said in a statement.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh: Dera Sacha Sauda spiritual leader found guilty of raping female followers

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh at a news conference to launch the score for his film 'MSG-2 The Messenger' in Mumbai  AFP/Getty Images A popular Indian actor and spiritual leader, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, has been convicted of raping his followers following a high profile trial. Singh was found guilty of raping two women  in a case dating back to 2002  at the headquarters of his Dera Sacha Sauda group in the town of Sirsa. The bearded guru, who had denied the charges, had arrived for the hearing with a 100-vehicle convoy that left his ashram early on Friday.  Some 15,000 police and soldiers were deployed in Panchkula, the town where his trial took place, for fear of violence. Tens of thousands of his devotees had travelled there to protest his innocence, according to reports, while internet and phone services were throttled in a bid to forestall unrest. In a televised appeal, Singh asked his supporters not to resort to violence, but some said they would not t...

Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) threatens to attack Italian vessels in Libyan waters unlikely to materialise, but risks support mission

   the Italian parliament approved legislation allowing Italian military vessels to patrol Libyan waters in order to stem the flow of migrants entering Italy. This is the latest in a series of initiatives and proposals by the Italian government to block the Mediterranean migrant route, including the recent introduction of a code of conduct curtailing the flexibility of aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate rescue vessels in the Mediterranean. In response to the latest measure to deploy the Italian navy, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a militia associated with the Tobruk-based government in eastern Libya – warned that any non-commercial vessel entering Libyan waters without prior authorisation would be attacked.

Somali refugee arrested over pirate attack on Italian oil tanker in 2011

The ransom was reportedly paid to al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist gang   CREDIT:  AFP Italian police have arrested a 24-year-old Somali asylum seeker on charges of being one of a gang of jihadist pirates who seized an Italian oil tanker in the Persian Gulf in 2011.   The tanker and its crew were held hostage for 10 months until a reported $11 million ransom was paid. Mohammed Farah was caught by Carabinieri special force police officers after he applied for asylum as a refugee in the Sicilian town of Caltanissetta, police said. Officers used fingerprint records to identify him as one of 50 alleged pirates  who stormed the Savina Caylyn tanker  on February 8, 2011, using rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons. The ransom was reportedly paid to  al-Shabaab, a Somali terrorist gang , after the crew of five Italians and 17 Indians were tortured and mistreated during their 10-month ordeal. Police found fingerprints on the tanker after its...