In fact, according to the Rodong Sinmun newspaper, Kim said that he would "turn the (United States) into ashes", in a threat that came in response to Tuesday's historic test of a ground-based interceptor system created to shoot down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles - including nuclear-armed missiles headed toward the US mainland or other USA territory from North Korea.
This was the first live-fire test event against an ICBM-class target for GMD and the US ballistic missile defense system.
According to the test plan, a 5-foot-long "kill vehicle" released from atop the interceptor zeroed in on the ICBM-like target's mock warhead outside Earth's atmosphere and obliterated it by sheer force of impact, the Pentagon said. USA officials, however, will continue to evaluate the GMD's performance based upon telemetry and other data acquired during the test, the release added.
The test record for USA ballistic missile defense systems is mixed - before Tuesday, nine of 17 attempts by a system like this since 1999 have been successful.
The Pentagon, for its part, is conducting a review of its nuclear deterrent system, which includes intercontinental missiles, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines, in order to determine if there are any modernisations needed.
The Associated Press said the Pentagon calls the tactic "hitting a bullet with a bullet".
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Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said Tuesday that the test wasn't "timed specifically to the current tensions in North Korea", but said that recent threats from the country "is one of the reasons why we have this capability".
The US has for the first time successfully tested its defence system against an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), say officials. The last one, in June 2014, was the first success since 2008.
"And I'm even more confident today, after seeing the intercept test yesterday, that we continue to be on that course".
USA national intelligence director Dan Coats warned Congress last week that "North Korea is an increasingly grave national security threat to the United States because of its growing missile and nuclear capabilities combined with the aggressive approach of its leader Kim Jong Un". A simulated attack intercontinental ballistic missile was sacked from a tiny island in the Pacific. Previously, the system had only hit its target in nine out of 17 attempts, and it had only been tested against shorter-ranged missiles, prior to Tuesday's test. The GMD system received the target tracking data and developed a fire control solution to intercept the incoming missile.
"Since no "missile defense" will ever be ideal, how many cities is a president willing to give up if he starts a nuclear war?" he asked.
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