North Korea conducts missile test
What's the story
North Korea has successfully tested an intermediate-range missile, state media reported on Sunday. The test was supervised by leader Kim Jong Un and took place in eastern North Korea. The missile hit a target 1,000km off the country's east coast. This launch is part of a series of weapons tests conducted by North Korea this year.
Test purpose
Japan, South Korea failed to track the weapon's flight
The missile test was aimed at training troops on a hypersonic strategic weapon system and evaluating the reliability, efficiency, and mobility of North Korea's war deterrent.
Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's sister and a senior official in the ruling Workers' Party, said South Korea and Japan failed to track the weapon's flight due to a special "wave-like trajectory mode."
Detection failure
Kim Jong Un calls for recognition of North Korea's weapons
The South Korean military detected a ballistic missile launch and estimated it flew over 700km toward the sea off its eastern coast.
Kim Jong Un emphasized the need for Pyongyang to make its enemies recognize the "reliability and fatality" of its strategic offensive weapons.
He reiterated that developing North Korea's nuclear war deterrent is vital for national security.
Apology rejection
Tensions rise over landmine blast in demilitarized zone
The missile test comes amid heightened tensions after Kim Yo Jong rejected Seoul's demand for an apology over a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone.
The incident last month left South Korean soldiers seriously wounded.
South Korea blamed North Korea for planting the mines and demanded an apology, which Kim Yo Jong called "groundless," asserting that North Korea did not deliberately lay mines targeting South Korean troops.