TOKYO: Kim Jong Un, a North Korean leader, celebrated the successful testing of the ‘perfect weapon system’. Jong’s team of engineers launched what they claimed to be a new kind of intermediate-range ballistic missile system, able to carry massive nuclear warhead. U.S. rocket scientists fear that the missile which was launched Sunday morning shows great development towards an intercontinental ballistic missile that can most certainly reach mainland United States. John Schilling, an aerospace engineer and rocket specialist says that because of the never-before-seen technology used for the North Korean missile, North Korea may just be one year and not five, from having an ICBM. The launch was met with much opposition, especially from the White House which called North Korea a ‘flagrant menace’. Allies of the U.S., South Korea and Japan, also condemned the launch. A North Korean Agency’s official warned that if the U.S. as much as dares provoke military, North Korea is more than ready to counter it. “If the U.S. awkwardly attempts to provoke the DPRK, it will not escape from the biggest disaster in the history. The U.S. should not disregard or misjudge the reality that its mainland and Pacific operation region are in the DPRK’s sighting range for strike and that it has all powerful means for retaliatory strike.” Kim was quoted saying by the agency. Hwasong-12, the missile, was launched from a launch site near its border from China and 435 miles into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. Hwasong-12 raises many concerns regarding North Korea’s goal of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile which could soon be a reality. Technically, the missile seems very sound since it flew for 30 minutes, which is much longer than most other recent missiles. “This was a single-stage liquid rocket but it was still using high-energy fuel, so it probably had a really great range, this is the longest-range intermediate range ballistic missile they have shown us, and it could be part of an ICBM,” said Melissa Hanham of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation in California, after poring over the North Korean photos. The missile’s launch, according to Schilling, showed that it was able to strike the U.S. military base in Guam. However, it is advancement in the development of ICBMs.