SEOUL -- North Korea's most powerful missile launch yet and pronouncements that its nuclear program is now complete could be Kim Jong Un's way of calling the U.S. to the table for talks that would secure a guarantee of the continuation of his regime.
The Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile launched early Wednesday morning demonstrated the capacity needed to strike the U.S. mainland, according to South Korea's National Intelligence Service. The North Korean leader has gone a step further, declaring his country has at last brought its nuclear weapons development program to fruition.