SEOUL, South Korea _ North Korea says it has moved closer to test-firing an intercontinental ballistic missile with the potential of hitting the U.S. mainland.
"U.S. President Donald Trump has said the world will never see North Korea reach the final stage of developing nuclear weapons that could reach the U.S., but recent strategic weapon tests have proved the country is 'not far away' from testing an ICBM," the state-run Korean Central News Agency said, citing a commentary in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
The end of the U.S.'s anti-North Korea policies are now a "near reality," the commentary said.
The isolated state has accelerated its missile-testing program in defiance of United Nations sanctions, as leader Kim Jong Un seeks to develop a device that can deliver a nuclear warhead to North America. The regime already possesses the Taepodong-2, which can reach all parts of the U.S., but analysts say it has been used for launching satellites into orbit and probably wouldn't be suitable for delivering atomic weapons.
The U.S. last week tested a defense system that it said successfully intercepted and destroyed a mock intercontinental ballistic missile. The trial was the first intended to replicate the flight profile of an ICBM that could be deployed by North Korea.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday urged China to do more to rein in North Korea. KCNA called those remarks "impetuous" and said the country would accelerate the development and diversification of its nuclear force.
In its latest act of provocation, North Korea on Thursday launched a series of short-range missiles that flew about 124 miles. The projectiles appeared to be designed to attack ships.
The same day, Japan's ruling party urged Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to consider building missile shelters and carry out more evacuation drills in response to the threat.
