North Korea declared on Sunday it could test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at any time from any location set by leader Kim Jong Un, saying a hostile US policy was to blame for its arms development. North Korea has been testing rocket engines and heat-shields for an ICBM while developing the technology to guide a missile after re-entry into the atmosphere following a liftoff, experts have said. Once fully developed, a North Korean ICBM could threaten the continental United States, which is around 9,000 km (5,500 miles) from the North. A US State Department spokesperson said last week that the United States did not believe that North Korea was capable of mounting a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile. North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Source: Egypt Independent January 09, 2017 09:03 UTC