WASHINGTON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson confirmed on Tuesday that the latest missile test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was with an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Calling the test of the ICBM "a new escalation of the threat" to the United States, its allies and the world, Tillerson said in a statement that the United States intends to bring the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue before the UN Security Council and enact stronger measures against the DPRK.
While stressing that the United States will not accept a nuclear-armed DPRK, Tillerson said the United States seeks only the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
According to a statement by the U.S. Pacific Command, the U.S. military on Monday detected and tracked what it assessed was a DPRK missile launch at 2:40 p.m. Hawaii time near the Panghyon Airfield.
At that time, the U.S. military called the DPRK test as a single launch of a land-based, intermediate range ballistic missile.
