North Korea Building Biggest Nuclear Missile For 70th Anniversary, Defector Says

A North Korean defector is alleging that Kim Jong-un has ordered the nation build its biggest missile ever to mark its 70th anniversary later this year, according to a report.

The missile is supposed to be ready for launch that day, Sept. 9, to commemorate the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, according to The Telegraph. Kim allegedly made the order in December during a meeting with scientists and military leaders.

That unnamed defector was connected to North Korea’s missile program, according to the report. The Unha-3 rocket, North Korea’s current missile model, is almost 100 feet and is said to have launched a satellite into Earth orbit almost two years ago, although there has been no official detection of such an object. Allegedly following it will be the larger Unha-4 rocket.

It is unclear what the goal of the Unha-4’s mission would be.

There has been tension between the United States and North Korea over the latter’s missile program for some years — as well as tensions between North Korea and most of the rest of the world — but the news of the defector’s claims broke just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted an insult about Kim and its nuclear program, sparking feuds between Trump supporters and opponents.

“North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the ‘Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times,’” Trump wrote on the evening of Jan. 2. “Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!”

Trump was referencing a New Year’s Day speech Kim gave in which the North Korean dictator said his country’s nuclear weapons had enough range to strike anywhere in the continental U.S. “and the nuclear button is always on the desk of my office,” according to CNN. “They should accurately be aware that this is not a threat but a reality.”

Following the tweet, many users commented that Trump was threatening another nation with nuclear war and questioned whether it violated Twitter’s terms and conditions.

The president has previously been criticized for tweets directed at Kim, including one in November that appeared to call him “short and fat.”