With presence of the General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong Un, North Korean military forces test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the ACNC news agency reported Saturday.

The test, which was conducted on Friday by using the Hwasongpho-type missile at Pyongyang International Airport, was aimed at “checking reliability and operational safety of the weapon system,” the source stated.

The action to increase nuclear deterrent to enemy forces comes at a time when the WPK strategy and the government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to prioritize national defense is being rigorously implemented.

Invoking the sovereign country’s right to self-defense, Jong Un, also chairman of the DPRK State Affairs Commission, condemned that the military threat from the U.S. and other hostile forces in the vicinity of “our state” has become open recently and it is urgent to improve ICBMs ahead of this situation.

Jong Un further warned that if the enemies continue to exert their threat by introducing nuclear strike means, the WPK and DPRK will respond sharply in the same way to the nuclear weapon and frontal confrontation.