North Korea says intermediate-range missile fired in drill

• North Korea conducted a drill with an intermediate-range strategic missile.
• Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile test.
• The missile hit a target 1,000 km away in the sea off the country's east coast.
• Kim Yo Jong criticized South Korea and Japan for failing to track the missile's flight.
• The drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system.

North Korea conducted a drill involving an intermediate-range strategic missile, state media reported Sunday. Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch, which KCNA said hit a target 1,000 km (621 miles) away in the sea off the country's east coast. The drill was intended to train troops operating a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to assess the reliability, efficiency and mobility of the country's war deterrent.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of Kim Jong Un and a senior official in the ruling Workers' Party, stated that the missile was launched on Saturday from eastern North Korea. She criticized South Korea and Japan for failing to track the weapon's flight, saying a special "wave-like trajectory mode" exposed limitations in their tracking capabilities. South Korea's military had previously said it detected a ballistic missile launch by North Korea, assessing it had flown more than 700 km toward the sea off its eastern coast.

The launch is the latest in a series of North Korean weapons tests this year and comes amid escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula. Tensions have been heightened following a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone last month that wounded South Korean soldiers, an incident for which South Korea has blamed North Korea and demanded an apology. Kim Yo Jong dismissed the accusation as "groundless."