SEOUL: North Korea on Thursday successfully test-fired its new intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-19, considered by the country as the ultimate ICBM, its state media reported Friday.

In the report, the Korean Central News Agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who observed the launch, “expressed great satisfaction at the fact that the successful test-fire of the new-type ICBM proved before the world that the hegemonic position we have secured in the development and manufacture of nuclear delivery means of the same kind is absolutely irreversible.”

North Korea apparently sought to make its presence felt by demonstrating advances in its military power ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. presidential election.

The North Korean leader claimed that “the test-fire is an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security of our republic (North Korea) recently,” the KCNA report said.

According to the news agency, the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers for about 86 minutes, reaching a maximum altitude of 7,687.5 kilometers, the highest ever for North Korea’s strategic missile capability.

The report also said that “the test-fire had no negative effect on the security of neighboring countries.”

The South Korean military said that North Korea fired an ICBM on a lofted trajectory toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday morning.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, the missile flew for 86 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of over 7,000 kilometers, hitting flight time and altitude records for North Korean missiles.

JIJI Press