A North Korean ballistic missile during the Victory Day parade. Credit: Stefan Krasowski/ commons.wikimedia.org.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has confirmed the evaluation test firing of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).

The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that the test-firing was carried out on 30 January.

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It was performed under a plan of the ‘Academy of Defence Science, the Second Economy Commission and other institutions’.

The news agency further noted that the test was intended to ‘selectively evaluate the missile being produced and deployed’, as well as verify and assess the weapon’s ‘accuracy, security and effectiveness’.

The missile was conducted from the country’s northwestern region toward the East Sea of Korea waters.

KCNA added that ‘the Academy made public the earth image data taken from space by a camera installed at the missile warhead’.

The launch of the Hwasong-12 IRBM is said to be the first time since 2017. It is designed to reach the US Pacific territory of Guam.

In response to DPRK Missile Launch​, US Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement: “We are aware of the DPRK’s ballistic missile launch today and are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, as well as other regional allies and partners.

“The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further destabilising acts.

“While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel, territory, or that of our allies, we will continue to monitor the situation. The US commitment to the defence of the ROK and Japan remains ironclad.”