North Korean leader Kim Jong Un directly oversees the testing of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) to bolster its nuclear deterrent against US "imperialists".
Thursday's launch was the first time North Korea fired its most powerful missile since 2017, and flew higher and further than any previous ICBM Pyongyang has tested.
The launch of a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, under Kim Jong Un's "direct guidance", KCNA reported, as reported by Channel News Asia.
The Hwasong-17 is a giant ICBM that made its first public appearance in October 2020 and has earned the nickname "missile monster" by analysts.
The intercontinental ballistic missile has never before successfully undergone a test-firing, and the launch sparked immediate anger from neighboring North Korea and the United States.
KCNA released photos of Kim, wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses, walking across the tarmac in front of a large missile carried in an 11-axle transport vehicle.
"The missile, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, traveled to a maximum altitude of 6,248.5 km and flew for 1,090 km for 4,052 seconds before accurately hitting a predetermined area in the open waters of the Sea of Japan," KCNA said.
South Korea's military estimated Thursday's launch distance was 6,200 km, further than the last ICBM, the Hwasong-15, which North Korea tested in October 2017.
The missile landed in Japanese territorial waters, sparking anger from Tokyo. But, KCNA said, the launch was "in a vertical mode taking into account the security of neighboring countries".
North Korea is under international sanctions for its weapons program. The United Nations (UN) Security Council held an emergency meeting on the launch on Friday (25/3).
South Korea, the US and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced the launch as a "blatant violation" of UN Security Council resolutions. Meanwhile Japan says it threatens "peace and security" in the region.
Thursday's launch, one of nearly a dozen North Korean weapons tests so far this year, marked a dramatic return to long-range missile tests by the nuclear-armed nation.
Fully prepared for a long-term confrontation
Kim said the new weapon would "credit to its mission and duties as a powerful deterrent to nuclear war", according to KCNA.
"Leader Kim said with pride that the emergence of the DPRK's new strategic weapon will make the whole world clearly aware of the strength of our strategic armed forces once again," KCNA said.
KCNA said the successful test-firing of the Hwasong-17 meant North Korea was ready for a long-term confrontation with the United States.
Kim said North Korea now has "a formidable military and technical capability that is not compromised by any military threats and blackmail" and would be "fully prepared for a long-term confrontation with the US imperialists".
North Korea has halted nuclear and long-range missile tests since Kim met then US President Donald Trump for a failed diplomatic bout that collapsed in 2019.
But North Korea threatened earlier this year it could abandon a self-imposed moratorium on such testing.
The US and South Korea warned this month that Pyongyang was preparing to launch an ICBM at full range.
North Korea has long coveted an ICBM that could carry multiple warheads. Seoul and Washington said Pyongyang had tested the Hwasong-17 under the guise of developing a "reconnaissance satellite".
Last week, a possible test of the Hwasong-17 ended in failure, exploding in the skies over the North Korean capital shortly after launch.
KCNA added that Thursday's successful launch "clearly proved all parameters of the weapon system completely meet the design requirements" and "rapid operation" can now be guaranteed even "under wartime environment and conditions".
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