It appears North Korea is set to resume its ICBM test at any moment.
According to the state-run KCNA news agency, on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un supervised a test-firing of a new tactical guided weapon, calling its development an “event of very weighty significance” in beefing up its military power.
The report did not specify exactly what the tested weapon was, although some military channels have suggested that it was “likely a cruise missile or SAM, or some other missile variant.“
#DPRK supervises test-fire of a new tactical guided weapon. Likely a cruise missile or SAM, or some other missile variant. https://t.co/Kbo3pAjLLT
— Strategic Sentinel (@StratSentinel) April 17, 2019
“Saying that the completion of the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People’s Army, he noted that it is a very good thing that the field of national defense science has waged a dynamic struggle for attaining core research goals,” Kim was quoted as saying by the Korean Central News Agency.
“After watching the power of the new-type tactical guided weapon, he pointed out that our national defense scientists and workers in the field of the munitions industry performed another great work in increasing the country’s defense capabilities,” KCNA said, according to Yonhap.
Kim’s theatrical supervision of the weapon test came after he suggested a year-end deadline for denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. following the breakdown of his February summit with U.S. President Donald Trump.
On Wednesday, Pyongyang’s media reported that the North Korean leader visited an air force unit and reviewed a flight exercise in his first public inspection of military activities in five months.
The unexpected weapons test is a throwback to the volatile days of mid/late 2017 when North Korea would lob a test ICBM at some vague target in the Pacific (usually flying over Japan) just to be taken seriously by Trump. However, two summits later, and one lengthy attempt at restoring diplomatic relations seemingly in disarray, appears to have restarted the status quo.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2DgWcoI Tyler Durden