North Korea has conducted a test of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile under the supervision of leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported on Sunday.
According to the report, the missile was launched from eastern North Korea on Saturday and struck a target around 1,000 kilometres away in waters off the country’s east coast.
The drill was aimed at training troops operating the hypersonic strategic weapons system and evaluating the reliability, efficiency and mobility of Pyongyang’s war deterrent.
The test comes amid heightened tensions with South Korea following a landmine blast in the Demilitarised Zone last month that wounded South Korean soldiers.
Kim Jong Un said North Korea must continue strengthening its strategic offensive capabilities and make its enemies recognise their “reliability and fatality”. He also reaffirmed that developing the country’s nuclear war deterrent remains essential for national security.
South Korea’s military said it detected the launch and assessed that the missile travelled more than 700 kilometres toward the eastern sea.
Kim Yo Jong also claimed that South Korea and Japan failed to properly track the missile because of its “wave-like trajectory mode”.
