North Korea said it test fired its new type of intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, on Thursday under the direct guidance of leader Kim Jong-un.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency(KCNA) said on Friday that Kim issued a written order on Wednesday to conduct the test and visited the launch ground to personally oversee the complete test-launch process on Thursday.

After the launch, Kim reportedly said that the new strategic weapon of the country would make the world clearly aware of the power of the North's strategic armed forces once again.

He stressed that the country and the party remain firmly committed to strengthening its "nuclear war deterrence" position to prepare for any crisis and to preserve the nation's safety.

Kim said his country would continue to focus on bolstering its defense capabilities, pledging to fully prepare for a long confrontation with the U.S. imperialists.

The KCNA said the missile, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, traveled up to a maximum altitude of six-thousand-248-point-five kilometers and flew one-thousand-90 kilometers for four-thousand-52 seconds before accurately hitting the pre-set area in open waters in the East Sea.

[Photo : YONHAP News]