Washington, Nov 3 (AFP\/APP): North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is “illegal and destabilizing,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday.<\/p>\n
Austin also branded the North’s actions “irresponsible and reckless” during a joint news conference at the Pentagon alongside his South Korean counterpart Lee Jong-sup.<\/p>\n
South Korea’s military said earlier that the ICBM launch — part of a salvo of missiles fired on Thursday — was “presumed to have ended in failure.”<\/p>\n
In response to the launches, South Korea and the United States said they would extend their ongoing joint air drills, the largest-ever such exercises — a move Pyongyang immediately branded “an irrevocable and awful mistake.”<\/p>\n
Washington and Seoul have repeatedly warned that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent missile launches could culminate in another nuclear test — which would be Pyongyang’s seventh.<\/p>\n
North Korea revised its laws in September to allow for pre-emptive nuclear strikes, with Kim declaring the country to be an “irreversible” nuclear power — effectively ending negotiations over its banned arms programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington, Nov 3 (AFP\/APP): North Korea’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is “illegal and destabilizing,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday. Austin also branded the North’s actions “irresponsible and reckless” during a joint news conference at the Pentagon alongside his South Korean counterpart […]<\/p>\n
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