North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Sunday his country is close to testing an intercontinental ballistic missile, potentially ratcheting up the danger posed by the country’s growing nuclear arsenal.
“Research and development of the cutting-edge tech weapons are actively progressing and strengthening our defense capabilities, including last stage preparation of tests for [an] intercontinental ballistic rocket launch, have been continuously succeeding,” Kim said in a televised New Year’s Day address.
North Korea has tested increasingly powerful nuclear weapons. A successful ICBM test could put it on a path toward reaching the United States with a bomb.
