North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has bragged that his country has achieved full nuclear statehood after successfully testing a new missile capable of hitting anywhere in the United States. The country abruptly ended a 10-week pause in its weapons testing on Tuesday when it fired off its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile yet. It poses a new challenge for President Donald Trump who has vowed not to let North Korea develop nuclear missiles that can hit the US mainland. After watching the successful launch of the new type ICBM Hwasong-15, Kim Jong Un boasted about its success, ... US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned that North Korea now has the ability to hit 'everywhere in the world' and that the latest missile test went 'higher, frankly, than any previous shot they have taken.' The Pentagon said the test missile traveled about 620 miles and landed within 200 nautical miles of Japan's coast. One physicist said the missile appeared to have a realistic range of just over 8,000 miles, which means Washington D.C. is now in range of Kim's attacks - and that Australia and Europe are too. 

NY Times: David Wright, a scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the missile performed better than the two fired in July, and exhibited a potential range of more than 8,000 miles, able to reach Washington or any other part of the continental United States.However, Dr. Wright noted that in an effort to increase the vehicle’s range, the North Koreans might have fitted it with a mock payload that weighed little or next to nothing. So the distance traveled, while impressive, does not necessarily translate into a working intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver a thermonuclear warhead.


For all the evidence of technical advancements, a senior White House official said the significance of the launch should not be overstated, given the number of missile tests North Korea has carried out this year. The White House had expected some form of retaliation after it put the North back on its list of state sponsors of terrorism last week.Mr. Trump, officials said, will stick to his policy of rallying nations to apply economic pressure on North Korea, backed up by the threat of military action. In a statement, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson condemned the launch. But he added, “Diplomatic options remain viable and open, for now.”