North Korea Sends US 'Gift to the Bastards' with Missile Launch

KCNA, North Korea's state-run television, characterized the country's intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, launch as being a gift for the “American bastards.”

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After the tests, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un encouraged his nuclear scientists to “frequently send big and small 'gift packages' to the Yankees,” by conducting even more missile and nuclear tests.

His inspection of the Hwasong-14 missile, Kim expressed “satisfaction" and said the weapons were "well made,” KCNA reported.

On Tuesday, South Korean and U.S. officials confirmed that North Korea had test-launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast. However, CNN reported that U.S. analysts called into question how much of a success it was.

The U.S. Pacific Command said it detected and tracked the "single launch of a land-based, intermediate range ballistic missile" for 37 minutes near an airfield in Panghyon, about 100km or 60 miles northwest of Pyongyang.

North Korea has conducted four missile tests since South Korean President Moon Jae-in took office in May.

Following the launch U.S President Donald Trump wrote a series of tweets where he questioned if Jung-un had “anything better to do with his life?”

North Korea's ICBM launch was followed by South Korean and U.S. ballistic missile launches and military exercises early Wednesday morning according to The Guardian.

Robert Kelly, a specialist on North Korean affairs at Pusan National University, said, “Kim Jong-un loves this, because it reinforces the image of North Korea standing up to a big, bullying imperialist.”