The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired a new-type intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasongpho-18, on Thursday local time, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Friday.

Kim Jong Un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, "guided the first test-fire of the new-type ICBM on the spot," according to the report.

"The aim of the test-fire was to confirm the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multi-stage missiles and the reliability of the stage-jettisoning technology and various functional control systems and to estimate the military feasibility of the new strategic weapon system," KCNA said.

"The test-fire confirmed that all the parameters of the new strategic weapon system fully met the requirements of the design in terms of accuracy, providing guarantee and creditability that the new-type ICBM would serve as a powerful strategic attack means of greater military efficiency," the news agency reported.

(Cover: South Korean army soldiers gather under a military post in Paju, South Korea, near the border with the DPRK, April 13, 2023. /CFP)