DPRK launches intercontinental ballistic missile in drill: Korean Central News Agency

SEOUL, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Sunday.

The Hwasongpho-15, fired on a lofted angle, was carried out at Pyongyang International Airport and accurately hit a pre-set area in the eastern open waters on Saturday afternoon. The launch was conducted under an emergency firepower combat standby order given at dawn on Saturday and a written order by Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, the report said.

The news agency reported that the move was designed to verify the weapons system's reliability and showcase the combat preparedness of the DPRK nuclear force.

A senior DPRK official delivered a stern warning following the launch.

Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued a statement on Sunday accusing the United States and South Korea of "openly showing their dangerous greed and attempt to gain the military upper hand and predominant position in the Korean Peninsula."

She said the United States and South Korea are "destroying the stability of the region," vowing that the DPRK "will watch every movement of the enemy and take corresponding and very powerful and overwhelming counteraction."