Rex Tillerson: "North Korea's ICBM is new escalation of the threat" to the US and the world"

Rex Tillerson: "North Korea
# 05 July 2017 04:29 (UTC +04:00)

The US has confirmed that North Korea on Tuesday tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called it a "new escalation of the threat" to the US and the world and warned that Washington "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea".

Pyongyang earlier said it was its first successful intercontinental ballistic missile test. US officials believe the North may now be able to fire a missile to Alaska.

However, experts say it cannot accurately hit a target. In response to the test over the Sea of Japan, the US and South Korea conducted a "combined [military] exercise to show our precision fire capability", Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement.

The US also asked for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the issue. A closed-door session of the 15-member body is expected later on Wednesday. In a statement, Mr Tillerson said: "The United States strongly condemns North Korea's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile."

Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world." Mr Tillerson stressed that "global action is required to stop a global threat".

And he warned that any nation that provided economic or military benefits to the North or failed to fully implement UN Security Council resolution was "aiding and abetting a dangerous regime.

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