The plan is to “mercilessly” strike key South Korean and US targets such as air bases,the military said.
North Korea has fired an additional six missiles off its eastern and western coasts,South Korea has said.
The launch was the most provocative weapons demonstration by North Korea this year as it ramps up missile tests to a record pace.
North Korea will likely be infuriated by the rhetoric that came days after it legislated to allow the use of its nuclear weapons preemptively.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un expressed “firm will” to continue developing his nuclear-armed military.
Kim Jong-un’s influential sister has issued two threats in 48 hours,following a test missile launch by the South last week.
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South Korea’s military said North Korea’s largest missile test yet used an older,smaller intercontinental ballistic missile.
It represents a major escalation of North Korea’s development of weapons potentially able to deliver nuclear warheads anywhere in the US.
American missile defence forces in the Pacific have been placed in a state of “enhanced readiness”,while Kim John-un says he wants to expand his “space ambitions”.
The resumption of weapons tests following a month-long hiatus during the Winter Olympics and comes as the United States and its allies are focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.