Kim Jong Un’s reported public appearances in July were almost entirely focused on the test of two intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs): the so-called “Hwasong-14.”

The DPRK regards the two launches as entirely successful and claims this independently-developed missile is capable of striking anywhere on the U.S. mainland.

Congratulating Kim Jong Un at a formal banquet, Ri Man Gon (Vice Chairman of the WPK Central Committee) reveled in the “shock” of the world at the DPRK’s first ICBM test, and lauded the test for having established “a new world political structure with socialist