North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile that flew for 86 minutes – the longest flight ever recorded – before falling into eastern waters, South Korea and Japan said.

The ICBM was fired at a sharp angle and reached an altitude of up to 7,000 km (4,350 miles). This means that if it had launched horizontally it would have traveled a further distance.

Thursday's launch violated UN restrictions and came at a time Deterioration of relations between the two Koreas and Pyongyang's increasingly aggressive rhetoric toward Seoul.

South Korea also warned on Wednesday that the North was preparing to launch its intercontinental ballistic missiles shortly before the US presidential election on November 5.

Seoul's Defense Ministry said the test was intended to develop weapons that “fire farther and higher.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a rare report on state media the same day that the launch “shows our willingness to respond to our enemies” and described it as a “proportionate military action.”

“I confirm that (North Korea) will never change its course to strengthen its nuclear forces,” Kim said.

The U.S. called Thursday's launch a “flagrant violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.”

“It just shows that (North Korea) continues to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the well-being of its people,” White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.

South Korea announced it would impose new sanctions on the North in response to the launch.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also condemned the launch because, according to his spokesman, it represented “clear violations of relevant Security Council resolutions.”

Neighboring China had previously said it was “concerned”.

Pyongyang recently fired an intercontinental ballistic missile in December 2023, despite long-standing and crippling UN sanctions. This rocket flew for 73 minutes and traveled about 1,000 km.

North Korea experts believe the launch was aimed at increasing the payload of its missiles.

Pyongyang has developed missiles that “can hit the U.S. mainland even if it carries a larger and heavier warhead” or even multiple warheads, said Kim Dong-yup, an assistant professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

Neighboring Japan said it monitored the launch on Thursday.

South Korean and U.S. officials met after the launch and agreed to “take strong and diverse response measures,” the South Korean military said in a statement.

“Our military remains at full readiness as we closely share North Korean ballistic information with U.S. and Japanese authorities,” it said.

Thursday's launch came after South Korea and the United States accused North Korea of ​​sending troops to Russia to support Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

The Pentagon estimates that around 10,000 North Korean soldiers were deployed used for training in eastern Russia. A “small number” have been sent to Kursk in western Russia, and several thousand more are on the way, the US said earlier this week.

The alleged presence of North Korean troops in Russia has added to growing concerns about deepening ties between Putin and Kim.

Pyongyang and Moscow have neither confirmed nor denied these allegations.

Additional reporting by Hosu Lee and Jake Kwon in Seoul