N. Korea Claims Successful Test-Firing of Hwasong-15 ICBM

Seoul, Feb. 19 (Jiji Press)--North Korea successfully test-fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency has reported.

An ICBM unit that carried out a test of a Hwasong-17 ICBM last November was instructed to stand by in the small hours of Saturday, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a written order for the Hwasong-15 test-firing at 8 a.m. on the day, according to the news agency.

The Hwasong-15 was launched on a lofted trajectory from Pyongyang on Saturday afternoon, with the launch directed by the missile general bureau, the news agency said.

The missile traveled a distance of about 990 kilometers and reached a maximum altitude of about 5,770 kilometers, the KCNA said, adding that it hit an intended target in the Sea of Japan after flying for some 67 minutes.

The missile firing was a proof of North Korea's efforts to build fatal nuclear counterattack capabilities against hostile forces, it said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]