North Korea confirms Saturday’s ICBM test

A news on a TV at Seoul Station on Sunday reports on the ICBM missile test by North Korea on Saturday. [YONHAP]

North Korea said Sunday it conducted a “surprise launching drill” of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the day before.

The state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said a Hwasong-15 ICBM was fired in a “surprise ICBM launching drill” under the written orders of leader Kim Jong-in.

The missile flew 989 kilometers (614 miles) for almost 67 minutes to an altitude of 5,768.5 kilometers (3,584 miles), according to the KCNA report.

On Sunday, Kim Yo Jong, leader Kim Jong-un’s sister and deputy director of the Workers’ Party propaganda department, warned that the North would “watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction against its every move hostile to us," in a statement released by KCNA.

She added that the ICBM is targeted toward U.S. and not “Seoul”.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]