Seoul – Pyongyang said Monday it had successfully launched a new type of ballistic missile in a test that was aimed at building capacity to launch nuclear missiles, North Korean state-run news agency KCNA reported.
KCNA said North Korea on Sunday launched “a new ground-to-gound medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket.”
“The test-fire aimed at verifying the tactical and technological specifications of the newly developed ballistic rocket capable of carrying a large-size heavy nuclear warhead,” KCNA said.
The missile flew 787 kilometres and reached an altitude of 2,100 kilometres, according to KCNA.
The launch came just days after South Korean President Moon Jae In, who has called for closer engagement with the North, was inaugurated in Seoul.
A statement from US President Donald Trump’s White House called North Korea a “flagrant menace” and urged “far stronger sanctions” against the reclusive nation.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened in recent weeks due to Pyongyang’s nuclear programme and missile tests and threats from Trump that the US could take unilateral action against it in retaliation.
-dpa
