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North Korean media boast successful ballistic missile launch

North Korea test fired a new missile in the early hours of Monday in its ninth launch this year.

PYEONGYANG, May 30. /TASS/. North Korea’s Monday launch of a ballistic missile that was fired toward the Sea of Japan was successful and the missile "hit the designated target with great precision," North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency said on Tuesday.

The country’s leader Kim Jong Un, who attended the test, ordered to focus on "developing powerful strategic weapons on the basis of the achieved success."

He said a missile of this type, able to carry out "high-precision strikes on enemy targets in any region," was rolled out for the first time during this year’s parade marking the anniversary of Kim Il Sung earlier this month.

North Korea test fired a new missile in the early hours of Monday. It was the country's ninth launch this year. According to the United States Pacific Command (USPACOM), Pyongyang launched what appears to be a short range missile. The missile had flown some 400 km and fell in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

North Korea achieved certain success in its ballistic missile technologies, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Tuesday, commenting on the reports.

"Presumably, North Korea reached a certain technological progress in this area," he told reporters.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, earlier reported that South Korea has developed a new high-precision guidance system, allowing ballistic missiles to hit targets within an accuracy of seven meters. The Japanese government said it was verifying the reports.

"We need specialists to analyze if (North Korea) indeed has this technology or not," Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada told reporters.