not only using missiles to send
a message to the world.
Will Ripley is “Outfront.”
>> Reporter: The massive missile
is a menacing sight moving into
place at Pyongyang’s airport.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un
gave the order just hours ahead
of Saturday’s surprise launch,
state media says.
This intercontinental ballistic
missile a huasong-15, hitting
hypersonic speeds hurdling high
above the Earth, barrelling back
down to Japan’s territorial
waters about 67 minutes later.
Saturday’s missile one of many
on display just last week, a
record number of icbms, more
than any military parade in
north Korean history.
Kim ordered mass production of
icbms earlier this year.
The parade featured new missiles
and a new face, Kim Ju ae, Kim’s
daughter, believed to be just 9
years old.
She began appearing on state
media three months ago, fueling
speculation she’s being groomed
as the next north Korean leader.
So, given the fact that Kim Jong
un chose to introduce his
daughter on the day of his
previous icbm launch, what do
you make of the timing and
symbolism of that?
>> I think it demonstrates that
she’s being groomed as the next
leader, and that, to me,
suggests there could be
something behind the scenes,
maybe a health problem with Kim
Jong un that is accelerating and
they need to do this now rather
than years later when she’s a
bit older.
>> Reporter: Kim’s daughter now
a fixture on state media,
sitting with her father at a
weekend soccer match, posing
together for a postage stamp
dad/daughter and the family
arsenal.
Two smaller fires were fired
Monday.
The bellicose broadcast came
with a warning from Kim’s
younger sister Kim Yo Jong,
saying the frequency of using
the pacific ocean as our
shooting range depends on the
nature of the U.S. Military’s
actions.
She’s referring to upcoming
military drills on the Korean
peninsula, the U.S., south
Korea, and Japan responding to
the icbm launch with joint air
exercises over the weekend,
fueling fears of further
escalation.
>> If North Korea conducts the
seventh nuclear test, which
could happen at any time, it
will be a game changer in the
sense that North Korea could
develop and deploy tactical
nuclear missiles.
