LOC09:39
06:39 GMT
TOKYO, Aug 25 (KUNA) -- North Korea's state media on Thursday aired the footage of the latest launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), while the nation's leader has called the launch of "the greatest success."
North's central television broadcasting station showed the launch of the missile from various angles, which was monitored by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
Pyongyang on Wednesday test-fired a SLBM in waters off its east coast. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed the launch, saying it was "the greatest success and victory," and his country has full capability to carry out nuclear attacks, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Kim said the results of the test-fire showed North Korea "joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability," the KCNA reported. It also said that the test-fire was conducted under a high-angle fire system using a solid fuel engine, claiming that it proved the country "perfectly" possesses the core technology of the SLBM.
The North's leader stressed the need to make efforts to mount nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles and develop means of their delivery in order to cope with nuclear war with the US, the report added.
The South Korean military said the missile flew about 500 km toward Japan, making the longest flight by such a missile launched by the North. Wednesday's launch marked the sixth time that North Korea has tested its SLBM capabilities after its first attempt in May 2015.
North Korea's purported success of the SLBM launch could serve as a fresh threat to regional security, as it is difficult to detect ballistic missiles when launched underwater.
North Korea is seeking to develop a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting targets on the US mainland, according to Yonhap.
North Korea is banned from using ballistic missile technology under relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. The Council slapped its toughest sanctions on the North over its fourth nuclear test and long-range rocket launch early this year. (end)
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