Kim Jong Un calls for rapid mass production of new missile

A television screen shows footage of a North Korean missile launch.
(Image credit: Jung Yeon-Je/AFP/Getty Images)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered Sunday's launch of a new medium-range missile, and after it was deemed a success, he "approved the deployment of this weapon system for action" and called for it to be "rapidly mass-produced," North Korean state media said.

The Pukguksong-2 missile traveled for about 310 miles, reaching a height of 350 miles, before it fell into the Pacific Ocean. It is a solid-fuel missile, meaning it is fueled up prior to being moved into place and can be launched quickly. State media said more missiles will be launched soon, calling them an "answer" to the policies of President Trump. On Fox News Sunday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said that North Korea's testing is "disappointing" and "disturbing."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.