SEOUL, March 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Friday it test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) the previous day guided by leader Kim Jong-un in protest against ongoing South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Thursday's launch was conducted in response to the "unstable security environment" on the Korean Peninsula due to "provocative and aggressive large-scale war drills" conducted by the United States and South Korea.
It claimed the ICBM, launched at Pyongyang International Airport, reached a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers and flew 1,000.2 km for 4,151 seconds before accurately landing on the preset area in the open waters off the East Sea.
"The drill confirmed the war readiness of the ICBM unit and the exceptional militancy of the DPRK's strategic forces and strictly verified their reliability," the KCNA said, referring to the country's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
It added that the drill had "no negative impact" on the neighboring countries.
Source: Yonhap News Agency