AGL 40.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.16 (-0.4%)
AIRLINK 129.53 Decreased By ▼ -2.20 (-1.67%)
BOP 6.68 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.15%)
CNERGY 4.63 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (3.58%)
DCL 8.94 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.36%)
DFML 41.69 Increased By ▲ 1.08 (2.66%)
DGKC 83.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.31 (-0.37%)
FCCL 32.77 Increased By ▲ 0.43 (1.33%)
FFBL 75.47 Increased By ▲ 6.86 (10%)
FFL 11.47 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.06%)
HUBC 110.55 Decreased By ▼ -1.21 (-1.08%)
HUMNL 14.56 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (1.75%)
KEL 5.39 Increased By ▲ 0.17 (3.26%)
KOSM 8.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-6.46%)
MLCF 39.79 Increased By ▲ 0.36 (0.91%)
NBP 60.29 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
OGDC 199.66 Increased By ▲ 4.72 (2.42%)
PAEL 26.65 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.15%)
PIBTL 7.66 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (2.41%)
PPL 157.92 Increased By ▲ 2.15 (1.38%)
PRL 26.73 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.19%)
PTC 18.46 Increased By ▲ 0.16 (0.87%)
SEARL 82.44 Decreased By ▼ -0.58 (-0.7%)
TELE 8.31 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.97%)
TOMCL 34.51 Decreased By ▼ -0.04 (-0.12%)
TPLP 9.06 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (2.84%)
TREET 17.47 Increased By ▲ 0.77 (4.61%)
TRG 61.32 Decreased By ▼ -1.13 (-1.81%)
UNITY 27.43 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.04%)
WTL 1.38 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (7.81%)
BR100 10,407 Increased By 220 (2.16%)
BR30 31,713 Increased By 377.1 (1.2%)
KSE100 97,328 Increased By 1781.9 (1.86%)
KSE30 30,192 Increased By 614.4 (2.08%)

SEOUL: North Korea’s latest weapons test “perfected” its newest and most advanced solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, state media said Friday, as global criticism mounts over Pyongyang’s purported deployment of troops to Russia.

Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test of the Hwasong-19 missile, which flew higher and further than any previous missile, according to the North and to Seoul and Tokyo’s militaries, which tracked it in real time.

The official Korean Central News Agency hailed it as “the world’s strongest strategic missile” and leader Kim “expressed great satisfaction” at the successful launch.

Developing advanced solid-fuel missiles – which are quicker to launch and harder to detect and destroy – has long been a goal for Kim.

The test proved that North Korea’s “development and manufacture of nuclear delivery means… is absolutely irreversible”, according to KCNA.

The missile is now a “perfected weapon system”, the agency said, with Kim describing the launch as an “appropriate military action” to send a message to the country’s rivals.

North Korea “would never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces,” it said.

State media released pictures of the ICBM and Kim observing the test in his signature black leather jacket, accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who Seoul’s spy agency recently said was being groomed as Kim’s heir.

The launch came just hours after US and South Korean defence chiefs called on Pyongyang to withdraw its troops from Russia, warning that North Korean soldiers in Russian uniforms were being deployed for possible action against Ukraine.

Experts said the missile test seemed to have been carried out to divert attention from mounting international criticism over the purported troop deployment to Russia.

North Korea leader says longest ICBM test ‘appropriate military action’ against enemies

The North has denied the move, but the United States said Thursday that up to 8,000 North Korean troops had reached Russia’s border region with Ukraine, trained and ready for combat.

South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun also said on Thursday that in addition to troops, North Korea has sent more than 1,000 missiles to Russia as well as millions of munitions.

Seoul has long accused the nuclear-armed North of sending weapons to help Moscow fight Kyiv and alleged that Pyongyang has moved to deploy soldiers en mass in the wake of Kim Jong Un’s signing of a mutual defence deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin in June.

Comments

200 characters