North Korea said Monday it successfully tested a new type of ground-to-ground medium- to long-range ballistic missile the previous day and warned the United States not to "misjudge" its advancing military capability.

(Rodong Sinmun)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed and hailed the test of a missile capable of carrying a "large-size heavy nuclear warhead," the country's official Korean Central News Agency said.

Largely in line with Japan's analysis announced on Sunday, KCNA said the missile, called Hwasong-12, flew 787 kilometers and reached an altitude of 2,111.5 km.

 (Rodong Sinmun)

 
(Rodong Sinmun)

Japanese officials said the missile, from around Kusong on North Korea's west coast not far from its border with China, is thought to have flown for about half an hour and reached an altitude higher than in any other similar tests by Pyongyang in the past, before falling into the Sea of Japan.

Kim warned the United States not to "disregard or misjudge the reality that its mainland and Pacific operation region are in (North Korea's) sighting range for strike" and ordered his officials to develop more nuclear weapons and means of delivering them, according to the report.

It said North Korea took the security of its neighboring countries into consideration, firing the missile at a high angle to reduce its flying distance.

A Japanese government source said Sunday that it would have a range of more than 4,000 km if launched on a normal trajectory.

 
(Rodong Sinmun)

The test reconfirmed the reliability of the new missile's engine and verified the homing feature of a warhead at the time of atmospheric re-entry and accurate performance of its detonation system, the report said.

Kim was quoted as saying that North Korea is a "nuclear power worthy of the name" whether others recognize it or not and ordered preparations for more tests until the United States and its allies make a "proper choice with reason."

John Schilling, an engineer who specializes in rockets, said the test shows a "level of performance never before seen from a North Korean missile."

"It appears to have not only demonstrated an intermediate-range ballistic missile that might enable them to reliably strike the U.S. base at Guam, but more importantly, may represent a substantial advance to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile," Schilling said in his analysis posted on the 38 North website of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins.

North Korea's leading Rodong Sinmun newspaper printed Monday a number of photographs of the test, possibly confirming that the missile launched this time is the same type displayed during a huge military parade in Pyongyang on April 15 to mark the 105th anniversary of late state founder Kim Il Sung's birth.

It could be what U.S. officials call a KN-17, a new medium-range, liquid-fueled ballistic missile, which North Korea failed to launch in April.

The test was North Korea's first military provocation after South Korean President Moon Jae In, known for his softer posture toward Pyongyang than his conservative predecessors, took office last week.

Despite being the subject of multiple U.N. sanctions and warnings, North Korea's latest missile test also came hours before Chinese President Xi Jinping was scheduled to open a lavish international forum billed as the most significant diplomatic event for him this year.

As well as defying the international community, it is seen as a challenge to China, North Korea's most vital political and economic benefactor.

The nearly 30 leaders participating in the forum to promote Xi's initiative to expand economic links along and beyond the ancient Silk Road trade routes included Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The new missile landed in waters near Russia, which is also an important major power for North Korea.

The U.N. Security Council plans to convene an emergency meeting on North Korea on Tuesday after one was requested by Japan, South Korea and the United States, according to diplomats.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley raised the possibility of tougher sanctions on North Korea such as an oil embargo, when she spoke to ABC's "This Week" aired on Sunday.

(Rodong Sinmun)

 
(Rodong Sinmun)