NORTH KOREA said today that it had test-fired a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific.

Pyongyang’s latest weapons test coincided with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un vowing to further expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations.

South Korea’s military said on Monday that it had detected North Korea launching a missile that landed in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan. 

Last year, Pyongyang demonstrated multiple weapons systems, including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles and it has also flight-tested various intermediate-range missiles in recent years. 

North Koreans has reportedly been experimenting with combining these missiles with hypersonic warheads in recent months to improve their survivability.

North Korean media said today that Mr Kim had supervised Monday’s launch and that the weapon had travelled 932 miles, during which it reached 12 times the speed of sound, before accurately striking a sea target.

Mr Kim described the missile as a crucial achievement in his quest to bolster the North's nuclear deterrence by building an arsenal “no-one can respond to,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Colonel Lee Sung Joon said Seoul’s military believed that North Korea was exaggerating the capabilities of the system.