North Korea orders development of more powerful weapons as a 'gift package' to America

A North Korean missile launch.
(Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images)

North Korea has ordered the development of more powerful weapons as a means of sending a "bigger 'gift package' to the Yankees," the state news agency, KCNA, quoted leader Kim Jong Un as saying.

On Monday, North Korea tested missiles equipped with "an advanced automated pre-launch sequence compared with previous versions of the 'Hwasong' rockets," Reuters writes. "That indicated the North had launched a modified Scud-class missile, as South Korea's military has said." The missile flew about 280 miles before coming down in the sea in Japan's economic zone, South Korean officials said. The launch came after two successful tests of North Korean mid- and long-range missiles in the last two weeks.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.