North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Wednesday he supervised a test-fire of a submarine-launched ballistic missile and boasted that it was "the greatest success" that put the country in the "front rank" of nuclear military powers, Reuters reports.
North Korea fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Wednesday which flew about 500 km (300 miles).
"A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile was successfully conducted under the guidance of supreme commander of the Korean People's Army (KPA) Kim Jong Un," the North's official KCNA news agency said.
"He appreciated the test-fire as the greatest success and victory. He noted with pride that the results of the test-fire proved in actuality that the DPRK joined the front rank of the military powers fully equipped with nuclear attack capability," the news agency added.
The KCNA report did not give the date of the missile launch as it customarily omits reference to the time and location of the country's leader's activities, noted Reuters.
The launch came two days after rival South Korea and the United States began annual military exercises in the South that North Korea condemns as a preparation for invasion, and has threatened retaliation.
The test was the latest in a series of similar tests by Pyongyang in recent months. Last month, the North test fired three ballistic missiles. In fact, tensions in the region have soared since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, claiming it was a hydrogen bomb.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries said the missile was fired from near the North's coastal city of Sinpo, where a submarine base is located, toward Japan.
Japan said the missile reached its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the first time by a North Korean missile, according to the Reuters report.