North Korea claims missile test demonstrates ultra-modern defense technology

North Korea on Tuesday reported on its missile launch earlier this week, saying that its leader Kim Jong-un called the test of a new combat weapon system a demonstration of "ultra-modern" defense technology.

The North's missile bureau "successfully tested a new type of weapon" Sunday in the presence of the North's leader, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea did not specify what the weapon system was but stressed the test was "of great significance in the rapid technological development of weapon systems," it said.

Kim described the test as "undoubtedly a striking demonstration of ultra-modern defense technology and clear progress in the modernization of the armed forces," the KCNA said.

The announcement came two days after South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North had fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area.

The launches came ahead of the UN General Assembly's high-level general debate, slated to open Tuesday, and the upcoming summit between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington on Thursday. They appear aimed at signaling to the Trump administration that it has no intention of curbing its military buildup.

Noting that such technology "is of weighty significance in the state's readiness for war and the future development of the armed forces," Kim said, "The enemy will know better what such progress means without any explanation in the aspect of military technology."

"He affirmed that such reality would give the enemy an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow," the KCNA added.

Photos released by the KCNA show Kim's daughter Ju-ae accompanying him.

The screen the two were watching displayed the words, "Hwasongpho-11Ma-1 flight trajectory," suggesting that the missiles might have been newly developed hypersonic ballistic missiles.

A closer look at the screen showed a flight distance of 908.2 kilometers, far exceeding the JCS assessment of 450 km and 600 km. But experts also raised the possibility Pyongyang altered the figure to claim that the test was a success. (Yonhap)