North Korea on Monday released photographs which it said were taken from its most powerful missile launch in five years.
The unusual pictures taken from space show parts of the Korean peninsula and surrounding areas.
Pyongyang confirmed on Monday that it had tested what’s thought to be its most powerful nuclear-capable missile since 2017.
It's a move that both the US and South Korea have warned could lead to resumed testing of long-range weapons and nuclear bombs.
State media KCNA released these space-based photos of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile in a test it said was conducted bearing in mind the safety of neighbouring countries.
South Korea and Japan however condemned it as a threat to regional security on Sunday.
This picture was reportedly taken from outer space with a camera at the warhead of the missle on January 30, 2022 | ReutersSouth Korean president Moon Jae-in said the latest launch brings Pyongyang a step closer to fully scrapping a self-imposed moratorium on its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles which Pyongyang had announced in 2018.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un however says he is no longer bound by it.
Washington shared Seoul's concerns on Sunday as one senior US official said these latest actions were a means to quote "increase pressure."
That's as Washington has urged Pyongyang to join direct talks with no preconditions.
Sunday’s launch was the country’s seventh missile test in January alone making it one of the busiest months ever for North Korea’s missile program.
Hwasong-12 missile
North Korea first launched the Hwasong-12 IRBM in April 2017, in a test that “pinwheeled” out of control and was considered a failure by US and South Korean officials.
Two more test flights that month also ended in apparent failure, with the missiles exploding seconds after launch or breaking up in flight.
The first successful flight was in May 2017, and North Korea went on to launch two more Hwasong-12s that year, flying them over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.
In Sunday's test, North Korea said it fired the missile on an elevated trajectory "in consideration of the safety of neighbouring countries."
The test "confirmed the accuracy, safety, and operational effectiveness of the produced Hwasong-12 type weapon system," KCNA said. South Korea reported the missile reached an altitude of about 2,000 km and flew to a distance of 800 km.
The Hwasong-12 has an estimated range of 4,500 km, which would put the US territory of Guam and the far western tip of Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain within reach, according to the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
It can carry a "large-size heavy nuclear warhead," according to state media, and in 2017 North Korea threatened to use it to target Guam with "enveloping fire."
