After an American senator called North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in March a “crazy fat kid,” the U.S. may now be forced to take Pyongyang more seriously. The communist nation, belittled for missile tests that failed, fired an intercontinental ballistic missile on July 4.

Gizmodo reported that U.S. authorities confirmed on Wednesday that the missile which North Korea called its “gift packages to the Yankees” was an ICBM. The missile, which was Pyongyang’s way of demonstrating its mettle to the U.S., had a range of at least 3,400 miles.

Defying the American warning

Kim Jong-un said the ICBM launch tested North Korea’s will in defying the U.S. warning. After Washington confirmed the missile was an ICBM, U.S. State Secretary Rex Tillerson condemned its launch. “Testing an ICBM represents a new escalation of the threat to the United States, our allies and partners, the region, and the world," he said.

The ICBM could reach Alaska, but not the mainland or Hawaii. In response to the ICBM launch, the U.S. and South Korea, for their joint exercises, included precision firing capability tests. The exercise used MGM-140 Army Tactical Missiles.

The UN, meanwhile, will conduct an emergency meeting, called by the U.S., Japan, and South Korea, in the later part of Wednesday.

The topic will be Pyongyang’s ICBM test. Tillerson pushed for a global action to stop a global threat. He asked countries to publicly show to North Korea its pursuit of nuclear weapons has consequences. The secretary said Washington intends to bring the provocative action made by North Korea before the UN Security Council to pressure the body into making stronger measures to hold Pyongyang accountable.

Trump blames China

It appears that U.S. President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at Mar-a-Lago about Beijing pressuring Pyongyang on its nuclear ambition failed to produce positive results. After the Tuesday ICBM launch, the president vented his ire on China through a tweet.

He posted it a day after he hoped China would place more pressure on North Korea.

Jingping actually called on Kim Jong-un, along with Russian President Vladimir Putin, to freeze the country’s nuclear weapons program. China, however, also challenged Washington to suspend its military exercises with Seoul and not to deploy anti-missile defense shield to protect South Korea if North Korea would attack, The New York Post reported. Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled to meet Putin in Poland.
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