The KCNA said Kim watched from an observation post as the test-firing happened, which the agency said was carried out without “any adverse impact” on neighboring countries.
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The DPRK test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile at about 5:30 a.m. local time (2030 GMT Tuesday) off the eastern coastal town of Sinpo in South Hamgyeong province, according to South Korean defense ministry.
North Korea has “joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability”, and the USA mainland is now within North Korea’s striking range, he said.
Land-based testing of the Pukkuksong-1 SLBM began as early as 2013, when the test stand at Sinpo was built, and the first confirmed submerged test launch was conducted in May 2015.
North Korea leader Kim Jong Un boasted about “the greatest success” of a ballistic missile launched from a submarine this week, which appeared to be a major technological breakthrough for the nuclear-armed nation.
Wang said the three neighbors, despite problems and difficulties among them, should work together to deal with regional threats like North Korea’s missile and nuclear ambitions.
In June, North Korea, after a string of failures, sent a midrange ballistic missile more than 1,400 kilometers (870 miles) high.
Last week North Korea’s deputy ambassador to Britain, Thae Yong-Ho, defected to the South – a rare and damaging loss of diplomatic face for Pyongyang and a major PR victory for Seoul.
North Korea has test-fired almost 20 missiles since the U.N. Security Council tightened sanctions March 2 to punish it for conducting its fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier in the year.
The test came just two days after South Korea and the USA kicked off joint Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) military drills on Monday, which will last until September 2.
Once again, Pyongyang threatened its rivals, in particular the “US imperialists” and the “South Korean puppet group”, which are now staging a joint military exercise “aiming at a preemptive nuclear strike at the DPRK with huge nuclear strategic assets involved”, according to the article. It flew an estimated 500 kilometers (310 miles) toward the seas around Japan, the longest distance North Korea has yet achieved in a submarine launch.
Kim lauded the missile launch as “a great manifestation and demonstration of the tremendous power and inexhaustible muscle”, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
The UN Security Council agreed to consider adopting a statement condemning the Wednesday launch following a closed-door emergency meeting later in the day.
The situation has worsened since Washington’s recent decision to deploy sophisticated nuclear-capable bombers at its base on Guam in the Western Pacific and the announcement of the deployment of THAAD missile systems in South Korea.
Many outside experts say the DPRK doesn’t yet have a functioning long-range nuclear missile capable of reaching the continental USA, but they acknowledge that it has been making steady progress in its weapons programs and could one day develop such a weapon.
State broadcaster Korean Central Television aired footage of the Wednesday launch on Thursday, showing the missile taking-off from various angles for about two minutes.
Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who chaired the meeting with China’s Wang Yi and South Korea’s Yun Byung-se, said that North Korea’s missile launch “simply can not be tolerated”.
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The Security Council held a closed-door meeting late Wednesday to discuss the latest launch, but the debate was complicated by Chinese opposition to plans for the deployment of an advanced US missile defense system in South Korea, The Associated Press reported.
