North Korea said Tuesday it successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, claiming the weapon would "reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region."

North Korea says its latest weapons test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike targets in the Pacific as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rivals.

North Korea has tested a new hypersonic missile, which Kim Jong-un said would help deter the country’s Pacific rivals, state media reported on Tuesday.

North Korea has claimed it fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead which "will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region". The launch on Monday - Pyongyang's first in two months - came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with some of South Korea's key leaders.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un said it tested a new hypersonic missile this week aimed at deterring the country's Pacific rivals, state media reported Tuesday, as Washington's top diplomat visited the region.

Kim Jong Un described the missile test as a crucial achievement in his goals to bolster North Korea's nuclear deterrence. Lee Sung Joon, Spokesperson of South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, downplayed the test,

North Korea claims a successful solid-fuel IRBM launch, but South Korea and experts remain skeptical of its performance and hypersonic tech.