North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the nation’s new hypersonic missile will keep any rivals in the Pacific region in check, following a test launch on Monday that coincided with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Seoul.

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 has fired what appears to be an intermediate range ballistic missile towards the sea to its east, South Korea's military said, in what is Pyongyang's first missile launch in two months. Japan's defence ministry said around noon local time (03:00 GMT) that the projectile had already fallen into the sea.

North Korea says it carried out its second missile test in two days — and this one was hypersonic. It came as U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken 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 has tested a new hypersonic missile, which Kim Jong-un said would help deter the country’s Pacific rivals, state media reported on Tuesday.

By developing hypersonic weapons and testing them before the presidential changeover in the United States, North Korea has a significant bargaining chip to use for whenever the new Trump administration comes looking to continue their previous diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.

The weapons test happened while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with South Korean officials.View on euronews

North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency claimed a successful test of a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile.