Kim Jong Un claims North Korea is close to testing long-range missiles

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sunday claimed his government is nearly ready to do a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, a major development in his nuclear agenda if successful. Preparations for the test have "reached the final stage," Kim said, leading to speculation that a new test may be scheduled around his birthday on Jan. 8.

This new technological prowess, he argued, will help North Korea "resolutely smash the enemies' despicable and vicious moves to dampen the pure and ardent desire of the people for the [Workers' Party of Korea] and estrange the people from it."

South Korea promptly condemned Pyongyang's interest in long-range missiles.

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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.