Leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, has said the country now has the capability to attack U.S. interests in the Pacific. He made the comment after supervising the test launch of a medium-long range strategic ballistic missile.

The DPRK's state news agency said the test-launch was successful and didn't put the security of neighbouring countries at risk. In a closed-door Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Beijing, a DPRK official explained why the country launched the missile test.

"We are not expecting anything from the other side, we just do whatever we should do. And what we are doing is to try to cope with the current situation where the United States is trying to threaten DPRK with nuclear weapons. So we are trying to strengthen our nuclear capabilities in order to cope with the threats that are imposed on DPRK," said Choe Son Hui, Deputy Director of North American Affairs, DPRK Foreign Ministry.