DPRK test-fires ballistic missile

SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday morning, with the country's top leader overseeing the event and stressing the DPRK will not change its policy of developing nuclear forces, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and president of the State Affairs of the DPRK, said at the scene that the test-fire was an appropriate military action "to inform the rivals ... of our counteraction will," the news agency reported.

Kim said "the rivals' dangerous tightening of their nuclear alliance" and military maneuvers highlight the need to strengthen nuclear forces. "We should never allow any threat to approach the security sphere under our state's influence," Kim said.

"The DPRK will never change its line of bolstering up its nuclear forces," the DPRK leader added.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense confirmed the test.

The country's news agency described the test as a demonstration of DPRK's strategic missile capability, noting it "updated recent records" and underscored the reliability of what it called "the world's most powerful strategic deterrent."