North Korea celebrates its 'capability of deadly nuclear retaliation'

North Korea has described Saturday's ICBM test as a successful "surprise exercise" that demonstrated Pyongyang's "capability for a deadly nuclear retaliation strike." According to the North Korean state news agency KCNA, a Hwasong-15 rocket was fired from Pyongyang Airport on Saturday afternoon (local time) on an order given in the morning by ruler Kim Jong Un.

The South Korean army claims to have noticed the launch of the rocket on Saturday at 5:22 p.m. local time (9:22 CET). According to Japan, the rocket landed in the sea west of the island of Hokkaido.

According to Japanese Defense Minister Kazuya Hamada, the projectile had a range of around 14,000 kilometers and could theoretically have reached the mainland of the United States. In November, North Korea had already fired a Hwasong-17 ICBM with a similar flight time, which also landed in the sea west of the island of Hokkaido.

According to KCNA, the North Korean government has described the country's first missile test since the beginning of the year as proof of the "actual war capability" of the country's ICBM units. These are ready for a "mobile and powerful counterattack".

The EU and G-7 countries sharply condemned the rocket test on Saturday evening. A spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell spoke of a "dangerous and ruthless action" that endangered "international and regional peace and security". In a statement, Japan's G7 presidency called it a "blatant violation of UN Security Council resolutions" that demand a unified response from the international community. This also includes clear measures by the UN Security Council.

The launch of the missile took place just days before a planned joint maneuver by South Korea and the United States. Only on Friday did North Korea threaten an "unprecedented" response to the planned military exercise. According to their own statements, the USA and South Korea wanted to use the military simulation games to practice their reaction to the use of nuclear weapons by Pyongyang.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated drastically in recent months. As a result, the US and South Korea announced in late January that they would expand their maneuvers. North Korea's ruler Kim Jong Un declared in November that he wanted to make his country the "most powerful nuclear power in the world". Over the past year, North Korea has conducted an unprecedented number of weapons tests, including the November launch of its most advanced ICBM.