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See just how far North Korean missiles can strike

Charts: A look at the how North Korea’s missile capability has ramped up under Kim Jong-un, putting the continental U.S. at risk of a nuclear strike

This picture taken on July 4, 2017 and released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 5, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (R) inspecting the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location. South Korea and the United States fired off missiles on July 5 simulating a precision strike against North Korea's leadership, in response to a landmark ICBM test described by Kim Jong-Un as a gift to "American bastards". (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

This picture taken on July 4, 2017 and released by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 5, 2017 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (R) inspecting the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated Jan. 4, 2018

In his New Year’s address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made an authoritative statement: He has finished building his country’s nuclear arsenal and is ready to use it.

“The U.S. should know that the button for nuclear weapons is on my table,” he said during his speech, according to the Associated Press. “The entire area of the U.S. mainland is within our nuclear strike range . . . The United States can never start a war against me and our country.”

True to form, the next day, President Donald Trump reacted on Twitter, calling his button “much bigger” and “more powerful”.

Regardless of who has the bigger button, one thing is undeniable: North Korea’s nuclear capacity reached an all-time high in 2017.

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, a nongovernment organization out of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, records all missiles launches in it’s North Korea Missile Test Database.

Here’s a look at how North Korea’s missile program has grown over time:

Reaching new heights and distances

North Korean missiles made new records last year for both distance traveled and height reached (known as apogee).

A missile tested at the end of November traveled nearly 4,500 kilometers into the air, landing 950 kilometers away.

The longest a missile traveled was 3,700 kilometers away from the country on September 14. It landed in the ocean after flying over the Japanese island of Hokkaido (the second missile to fly over Japan in 2017). Prior to 2017, the record for highest altitude was 1,400 kilometers. A separate missile traveled 1,000 kilometers.

Number of missiles fired

Kim Jong Un has beefed up missile testing since he took power from his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011. In 2017 the country has launched 20 missiles (five of which were categorized as a ‘failure’), according to the database.

 Launching facilities

Along with increased missile tests, Kim Jong Un also increased the number of testing facilities since 2011.

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