(VOVworld) – North Korea declared on Sunday it can test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at any time from any location designated by leader Kim Jong Un.

A strategic surface-to-surface ballistic missile Hwasong-10 was launched from a secret location by North Korea. (Photo: EPA/VNA)

The Korean Central News Agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman saying that the US’s anachronistic hostility to Pyongyang is what motivated it to develop an ICBM.

The US says North Korea has demonstrated a qualitative improvement in its nuclear and missile capabilities after an unprecedented number of tests last year, but it is likely to take years for the North to perfect the weapon.