North Korea says it conducted an intermediate-range strategic missile drill on Saturday, with state media reporting that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a test intended to train troops operating a hypersonic weapon system.
What Pyongyang claims
According to state news agency KCNA, the missile was launched from eastern North Korea and hit a target 1,000 km (621 miles) away in the sea off the country's east coast. The report, published on Sunday, said the drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to assess the "reliability, efficiency and mobility" of the country's war deterrent.
The KCNA report follows a disclosure on Saturday by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un and a senior ruling party official, who said South Korea and Japan had failed to track the weapon's flight because of a special "wave-like trajectory mode".
Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying Pyongyang must continue efforts to make its enemies recognise the "reliability and fatality" of its strategic offensive weapons, and reaffirmed that developing the nuclear war deterrent remained essential for national security.
What Seoul says
South Korea's military said on Saturday it had detected a ballistic missile launch by North Korea and assessed that the missile had flown more than 700 km toward the sea off its eastern coast, a shorter distance than the 1,000 km claimed by KCNA.
Rising tensions
The test is the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests this year and comes amid heightened tensions after a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone last month wounded South Korean soldiers. Kim Yo Jong on Friday issued a sharply worded statement rejecting Seoul's demand for an apology over that blast.
Sources: GMA News Online (Reuters): North Korea says it conducted intermediate-range strategic missile drill
What Pyongyang claims
According to state news agency KCNA, the missile was launched from eastern North Korea and hit a target 1,000 km (621 miles) away in the sea off the country's east coast. The report, published on Sunday, said the drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to assess the "reliability, efficiency and mobility" of the country's war deterrent.
The KCNA report follows a disclosure on Saturday by Kim Yo Jong, the sister of Kim Jong Un and a senior ruling party official, who said South Korea and Japan had failed to track the weapon's flight because of a special "wave-like trajectory mode".
Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying Pyongyang must continue efforts to make its enemies recognise the "reliability and fatality" of its strategic offensive weapons, and reaffirmed that developing the nuclear war deterrent remained essential for national security.
What Seoul says
South Korea's military said on Saturday it had detected a ballistic missile launch by North Korea and assessed that the missile had flown more than 700 km toward the sea off its eastern coast, a shorter distance than the 1,000 km claimed by KCNA.
Rising tensions
The test is the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests this year and comes amid heightened tensions after a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone last month wounded South Korean soldiers. Kim Yo Jong on Friday issued a sharply worded statement rejecting Seoul's demand for an apology over that blast.
Sources: GMA News Online (Reuters): North Korea says it conducted intermediate-range strategic missile drill