Pyongyang, December 19 (KCNA) -- The Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) gave an order to take a powerful warning measure under the grave situation, in which the hostile forces' anti-DPRK military threat that has persisted for the whole of this year is getting evermore undisguised and dangerous even at this moment of year-end December.

On December 15, the U.S. and the military gangsters of the Republic of Korea held a nuclear war confab called the second meeting of the "Nuclear Consultative Group" in Washington and openly revealed their intention to conduct large-scale joint drills under the simulated conditions of an actual war of "nuclear retaliatory strike" at the DPRK, again crying out for the "end of its regime".

Such reckless behavior of the enemies, posing evident threat to the security of the Korean peninsula and the region under the eyes of the world in the coming year, is further touching off the strong resentment of the government and armed forces of the DPRK and their will to take the toughest retaliation.

The enemies have determinedly strained the regional situation by staging various kinds of escalated military drills targeting the DPRK every month since January, recording the largest-ever level. And they are now loudly announcing the planned war drills aggressive in nature to be further detailed in the new year. The present situation clearly shows the inveterate confrontation stand of the U.S. and its predominant stooges keen on their unchangeable instinctive and constitutional ambition for aggression and predicts a black augury of total destruction of the security environment in the Korean peninsula to be further aggravated.

What should not be overlooked is the fact that the U.S. again dispatched its nuclear-powered submarine Missouri to the Korean peninsula, as an extremely provocative action, on Dec. 17 to pose a more grave threat to the security environment of the DPRK and the region, loudly advertising about it, not content with the frequent deployment of nuclear war hardware of various kinds including nuclear strategic bombers, super-large strategic nuclear submarine and nuclear carrier in the Korean peninsula to turn it into an assembly base for all the U.S. nuclear strategic assets.

Due to the confrontational maneuvers of the U.S. and its puppet military gangsters who are escalating the tension on the Korean peninsula, going in and out the region like their house, the territory of the DPRK and its boundary area are exposed to serious danger every moment and its security and interests are extremely violated. This grave situation is urgently requiring the DPRK to inevitably turn over to a changed action, a more offensive counteraction.

Under the decision of the WPK Central Military Commission on neutralizing the enemies' intentional and premeditated confrontational military threats with our strong behavioral warning, a drill of launching ICBM Hwasongpho-18 was staged as an important military action to clearly show the DPRK's nuclear strategic forces' overwhelming counteraction will and matchless strength to the enemies.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, watched the launching drill of an ICBM unit on the spot.

Accompanying him were commanding officers of the DPRK General Missile Bureau.

The drill was aimed to review the combat readiness of the DPRK's nuclear war deterrence and confirm its mobility, combat capability and reliability.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un listened to the plan for the launching drill, acquainting himself with the preparation for launch in a standby district beforehand.

Then he mounted the central command observation post to approve the launch of a strategic weapon, and General Jang Chang Ha, general director of the General Missile Bureau, issued a launch order to the Second Red Flag Company.

The moment, a huge body full of the absolute will and strength to mercilessly retaliate against the hostile forces obsessed with the ambition for nuclear confrontation with the DPRK began soaring into the sky with a shower of fire in its tail, making a deafening explosion.

The missile traveled up to a maximum altitude of 6 518.2 km and flew a distance of 1 002.3 km for 4 415s before accurately landing on the preset area in the open waters off the East Sea of Korea.

The launching drill had no negative effect on the security of the neighboring countries.

Through the drill, the combat capability of ICBM unit was highly estimated. And also verified once again were the rapid response posture of the strategic armed forces of the DPRK and the reliability of the most powerful strategic core striking means of the DPRK's military muscle.

Expressing great satisfaction over the results of the launching drill, Kim Jong Un said with pride that the successful drill is a practical demonstration of the actual condition and reliability of the formidable striking capabilities and absolute nuclear war deterrent possessed by the DPRK's armed forces.

He said that the launching drill sent a clear signal to the hostile forces, who have fanned up their reckless military confrontation hysteria against the DPRK all the year round and are frantically maximizing it till the end of this year despite the repeated stern warnings and denunciation by the DPRK. Noting that it was an occasion to clearly show what action the DPRK has been prepared and what option the DPRK would take when Washington makes a wrong decision against it, he appreciated that the drill once again and strikingly displayed the DPRK's will for toughest counteraction and its overwhelming strength.

The U.S. imperialists and their vassal forces' vicious ambition for confrontation will not abate of its own accord, he said, stressing the need for the DPRK to never overlook all the reckless and irresponsible military threats of the enemies destroying the basis of peace and security in the Korean peninsula and to strongly counter them with more offensive actions by adopting a more evolutionary and threatening way when the enemies continue to make a wrong choice.

He inspected the launching drill and set forth some new important tasks for accelerating the development of the DPRK's nuclear strategic forces.

The ceaseless bolstering of the national defence capability and the overwhelming counteraction are the consistent and immutable revolutionary policy and fighting spirit of the DPRK that can never change to defend the national dignity, sovereignty and interests. The nuclear strategic forces of the DPRK will perfect their military posture with more accuracy and confidence to resolutely suppress any grave military crisis and war crisis that may come at any moment. -0-