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revealed that North Korea conducted a launch drill yesterday (16th) to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17 type. General Secretary Kim Jong-un watched the launch with his daughter.

Ahn Jung-sik is a North Korea reporter.

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North Korea launches the Hwasong-1 type, an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the entire continental United States with a range of 3,17 kilometers.

[Launch.]

North Korea said yesterday that it conducted a Hwasong-17 launch drill at Pyongyang Airfield.

The missile climbed to a maximum altitude of 6,45 kilometers and flew over a distance of 1000,2.1 kilometers in 9 hour, 11 minutes and 17 seconds, North Korea said.

It also released footage of the missile's detachment.

This is the second time North Korea has successfully launched a Hwasong-11 high-angle launch after last November, and it is similar in terms of maximum altitude, flight distance, and time.

[Shin Jong-woo/Secretary-General of the Korea Defense and Security Forum: The two successful high-angle launches in a row can be interpreted as an increase in the reliability of the Hwasong-17 type.

North Korea has also released images of the high-altitude missile that appeared to have taken a picture of the Earth from space, and some analysts say it tested video transmission ahead of the launch of a reconnaissance satellite.

General Secretary Kim Jong-un came to the scene with his daughter Ju-ae.

Joo-ae watched the launch and monitor screen with Kim Jong-un, and the Korean Central Television released a photo of Kim Jong-un standing next to his wife.

Kim Jong-un has said that strengthening nuclear deterrence should instill fear his enemies and has expressed his intention to continue armed provocations in the face of the U.S.-ROK exercises.

[Korean Central Television: You said that you will continue to make the United States and South Korea, which are conducting large-scale military exercises, aware of its recklessness...]

North Korea threatened to use nuclear force whenever necessary, saying that the situation on the Korean peninsula was on the eve of an explosion because of the ROK-US military exercises.

(Video editing by Kim Jin-won)