North Korea reportedly sent a short-range ballistic missile into the sea Sunday — just one day after a stern warning from President Biden about the rogue nation’s use of nuclear weapons against the United States.
The North Korean military fired the missile off the country’s eastern coast, near the capital of Pyongyang, on Sunday night in what South Korean officials called a “clear violation” of UN Security Council resolutions.
The missile, which was in the air for about 20 minutes, reportedly careened about 354 miles before it splashed down.
The launch came one day after the Biden administration warned any nuclear attacks against the United States or its allies would be “unacceptable” and seal the “end” of Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship.
South Korea pilloried the launch as a clear violation of international agreements intended to bar Kim Jong Un’s regime from using ballistic missiles.
But in a statement issued shortly after the launch, North Korea blamed the US for destabilizing the peninsula and creating a “reckless military threat” by deploying strategic bombers and nuclear-powered subs to South Korea.
“The armed forces of the DPRK will thoroughly neutralize the US and its vassal forces’ attempt to ignite a nuclear war and thus reliably ensure peace and security in the Korean peninsula,” a spokesman for the nation’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The country — once named by former President George W. Bush as a central cog in an “axis of evil” that included Iran and Iraq — also attacked the US for working with South Korea on nuclear operation scenarios during joint drills, according to Fox News.
Pyongyang described the missile maneuvers as a threat against the country and promised it would prepare “offensive countermeasures” against the phantom danger.
Biden administration’s warning said that any attack North Korea mounts against the South “will be met with a swift, overwhelming, and decisive response.”
The statement also said any nuclear attack against the US, South Korea or any of their allies would be unacceptable and “result in the end of the Un regime,” Fox said.
The sharp message followed months of saber-rattling that included North Korea revealing in August that it had simulated “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea with ballistic missiles.
The country said it conducted the tests because the US flew B-1B bombers to the peninsula during a joint drill with its southern neighbor.
North Korea has tested more than 100 missiles since the beginning of 2022 as Kim Jong Un seeks to further expand his nuclear program.
The country has already developed and tested ballistic missiles that can reach South Korea, Japan and the US.
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