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Pyongyang threatened on Wednesday to test an intercontinental missile "anywhere and anytime," a day after Washington announced it successfully tested its interceptor missile defense system.
"The US must know our declaration that we can turn the devils’ den into ashes with nuclear weapons is not an empty threat," read an article published by the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the ruling Korean Workers' Party.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been soaring since the beginning of the year as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) ramped up its missile tests – the latest being on Monday – in defiance of UN sanctions warnings, condemnation from China and the rest of the international community and US threats of possible military action.
On Tuesday, the US Missile Defense Agency launched a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Base in California to bring down a mock intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) aiming over the Pacific Ocean. The interceptor "destroyed the target in a direct collision," the agency said in a press release.
So far this year, the DPRK has launched 12 missiles, and successfully tested three missile systems. The country has sped up the pace of its nuclear and missile tests, as Pyongyang seeks to develop nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles.
The Trump administration has lambasted Pyongyang for its repeated tests and warned that military action is an option on the table, sending in April aircraft carrier Carl Vinson to the Sea of Japan in proximity of the Korean Peninsula.
Another carrier Ronald Reagan joined Carl Vinson on Wednesday and carried out military drills.
"Such military provocation of the U.S. imperialists is a dangerous reckless racket for bringing the situation on the Korean Peninsula to the brink of a war," Rodong Sinmun said in a separate article on Wednesday, commenting on recent US military actions in the region.
(CGTN)
