“Our nuclear strike potential have long ago reached the level of essential miniaturization and diversification, and the increase in accuracy and intellectual ability of not only our short- and mid-range missiles, but also our long-range missiles have reached a level guaranteeing the maximum probability of striking the target,” Yonhap cited a representative from North Korea’s Defense Committee as saying.
This announcement comes less than two weeks after North Korean media reported that Pyongyang had carried out an as-yet-unconfirmed test of a ballistic missile launch from a submarine. Commenting on that news, an unnamed South Korean official told the Independent that Pyongyang could develop a fully functional ballistic missile submarine in two years.
On Thursday this week the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had been scheduled to visit a special economic zone on the inter-Korean border, Kaesong, which would have made him the first UN chief to visit North Korea in 20 years. Early on Wednesday Pyongyang retracted, without explanation, permission for the visit.
