North Korea's leader attends a medium-range strategic missile launch exercise

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North Korea announced a maneuver to launch a medium-range strategic missile at dawn on October 3, from an eastern region of the country towards the East Sea of ​​Korea, the official North Korean News Agency reported on Sunday.

The agency's report stated that the maneuver came "as part of efforts to train members of the missile forces - who operate the strategic hypersonic weapons system - to deal with their equipment, and to evaluate the extent of reliability, efficiency and maneuverability enjoyed by the country's military deterrent force."

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the launch maneuver at the site, the report said.

Kim said, "Through today's launch maneuver, the personnel of the Strategic Missile Forces demonstrated their professionalism and readiness for a fully counterattack. They clearly demonstrated their superior prowess in operating their main offensive system and their constant readiness for immediate action. They also strengthened confidence in our deterrent force."

The North Korean leader stressed, "Continuing our responsible efforts without stopping, to constantly and repeatedly make the enemy aware of the reliability and lethality of our strategic offensive means... This is a form of practicing deterrence," the agency reported.

Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement issued on Saturday that her country had conducted a test of a medium-range strategic missile. Earlier on Saturday, the South Korean army announced that North Korea had launched a ballistic missile that traveled more than 700 kilometers towards the sea off its eastern coast. Kim Yo Jong, an official in the ruling Workers’ Party, said that exercises on a “strategic weapon” were conducted towards the sea off the eastern coast of the country using a medium-range missile. She added that the North Korean leader supervised the training, which It was carried out by "an armed sub-unit carrying out an exclusive special mission." She referred to statements issued by Seoul and Tokyo regarding the distance traveled by the missile, saying that their findings show the limitations of their tracking capabilities.

She said that South Korea and Japan "must acknowledge the speed of the missile," without revealing the speed. She noted that the missile was also able to change its flight path at low altitude using artificial intelligence technology. She added, "In other words, this means that there is no way to avoid an attack with this (missile)."