North Korea has conducted an intermediate-range missile test under the supervision of its leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported on Sunday, amid heightened tensions with South Korea.
The missile was launched on Saturday from eastern North Korea and struck a target about 1,000 km (621 miles) away in waters off the country’s east coast, KCNA said.
The test was aimed at training troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapons system and assessing the reliability, efficiency and mobility of the country’s nuclear deterrent.
It was the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests this year and came amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula following a landmine blast in the Demilitarised Zone last month that wounded South Korean soldiers.
KCNA provided further details about the launch after Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s sister and a senior Workers’ Party official, disclosed the test on Saturday.
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Kim Yo Jong said South Korea and Japan had failed to track the missile throughout its flight, claiming that a special “wave-like trajectory mode” exposed limitations in their tracking capabilities.
South Korea’s military said it had detected a ballistic missile launch from North Korea and assessed that the missile travelled more than 700 km towards waters off the eastern coast.
KCNA said Kim Jong Un called for continued efforts to demonstrate the “reliability and lethality” of North Korea’s strategic offensive weapons and reaffirmed that strengthening its nuclear deterrent remained essential to national security.
The test followed Kim Yo Jong’s rejection on Friday of Seoul’s demand for an apology over the landmine blast in the Demilitarised Zone.
South Korea has accused North Korea of planting the mines and demanded an apology. Kim Yo Jong dismissed the accusation as “groundless”, saying Pyongyang had not deliberately planted mines targeting South Korean troops.
North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests this year.
