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Kim vows North Korea to have world's most powerful nuclear force

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Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong Un (C), president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People" s="" Republic="" of="" Korea="" and="" supreme="" commander="" the="" armed="" forces="" during="" test-launch="" a="" new="" type="" inter-continental="" ballistic="" missile="" Hwasongpho-17="" DPRK="" strategic="" that="" was="" conducted="" on="" March="" EPA-EFE="" KCNA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/overseas/03/25/20220325-kim-jong-un-epa.jpg"/><figcaption>A photo released by the official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong Un (C), president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People&#x27;s Republic of Korea (DPRK), and supreme commander of the armed forces of the DPRK, during the test-launch of a new type of inter-continental ballistic missile Hwasongpho-17 of the DPRK strategic forces that was conducted on March 24, 2022. EPA-EFE/KCNA/File</figcaption></figure></div><p><br/>SEOUL - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country aimed to have the world&#x27;s most powerful nuclear force as he celebrated the launch of its newest intercontinental ballistic missile at a ceremony with his young daughter, state media reported Sunday.</p><p>Kim also handed promotions to more than 100 officials and scientists for their work on the Hwasong-17 -- dubbed the &quot;monster missile&quot; by analysts and believed to be capable of reaching the US mainland -- just days after Pyongyang test-fired it in one of its most powerful launches yet.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/26/22/xi-china-willing-to-work-with-n-korea-for-world-peace">Xi tells Kim: China willing to work with N. Korea for &#x27;world peace&#x27; — report</a></li></ul><p>Hailing the new ICBM as &quot;the world&#x27;s strongest strategic weapon&quot;, Kim said North Korean scientists had made a &quot;wonderful leap forward in the development of the technology of mounting nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles,&quot; the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/04/22/north-korea-icbm-launch-appears-to-have-failed-seoul">North Korea ICBM launch appears to have failed, Seoul says</a></li></ul><p>Building the nuclear force to protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people &quot;is the greatest and most important revolutionary cause, and its ultimate goal is to possess the world&#x27;s most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century,&quot; Kim was quoted as saying in his order promoting the officials.</p><p>The leading officials and scientists had demonstrated to the world Pyongyang&#x27;s &quot;goal of building the world&#x27;s strongest army&quot;, he added.</p><p>The launching vehicle for the new Hwasong-17 ICBM was awarded the title of &quot;DPRK Hero&quot;, a separate KCNA report said, using the acronym for the North&#x27;s official name.</p><p>It &quot;clearly proved before the world that the DPRK is a full-fledged nuclear power,&quot; the report said, adding the North &quot;fully demonstrated its might as the most powerful ICBM state&quot;.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/18/22/6-nations-condemn-north-koreas-missile-launch">6 nations condemn North Korea&#x27;s missile launch</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/11/18/22/north-korea-fires-ballistic-missile-seouls-military">N. Korea fires suspected ICBM, Seoul and Tokyo say</a></li></ul><div> </div><p>The UN Security Council has passed nearly a dozen resolutions imposing sanctions on North Korea over its nuclear and missile activity since 2006.</p><div><strong> - &#x27;Bolster nuclear deterrent&#x27; -</strong></div><p>Attending a photo session on Saturday with officials and scientists who had contributed to the successful test-firing of the missile, Kim called for &quot;limitless bolstering of the defence capabilities&quot;, KCNA said in another report.</p><p>Kim exhorted the scientists and workers to &quot;expand and bolster up the nuclear war deterrent of the country at an exceptionally rapid speed&quot;.</p><p>The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried more than a dozen pictures of Kim at the photo session with his &quot;beloved daughter&quot;, who was revealed to the world for the first time at last week&#x27;s ICBM launch.</p><p>Until then, North Korean state media has never mentioned Kim&#x27;s children, and last week&#x27;s report was the first official confirmation that he had a daughter, experts said.</p><p>The photos showed the girl -- believed to be Kim&#x27;s second child named Ju Ae -- dressed in a black fur collar coat, linking arms with her father as they posed in front of the gigantic missile surrounded by uniformed soldiers.</p><p>The November 18 ICBM test was the latest in a record-breaking blitz of missile launches by Pyongyang, with officials and analysts in Seoul and Washington warning they could culminate in a seventh nuclear test by North Korea, which last tested an atomic device in 2017.</p><div><strong>sh/mtp</strong></div><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2356541" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country aimed to have the world's most powerful nuclear force, state media reported Sunday.