North Korea conducts test launch of Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - North Korea test-launched a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fueled by solid propellants on Monday, said a report.

"A drill of launching ICBM Hwasongpho-18 was staged as an important military action to clearly show the DPRK's nuclear strategic forces' overwhelming counteraction will and matchless strength to the enemies," North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was present during the event.

"The successful drill is a practical demonstration of the actual condition and reliability of the formidable striking capabilities and absolute nuclear war deterrent possessed by the DPRK’s armed forces," said Kim, as quoted by KCNA.

South Korea said the North fired a long-range missile into the East Sea in its fifth ICBM launch this year.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the launch, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric in a statement.

"The Secretary-General urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to fully comply with its international obligations under all relevant Security Council resolutions," said Dujarric.

Guterres "also reiterates his call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to reopen communication channels and to resume dialogue without preconditions to achieve sustainable peace and the complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he added.