国际英语新闻:DPRK confirms another medium-range ballistic missile drill

PYONGYANG, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) confirmed on Saturday that it conducted another medium-range ballistic missile drill Friday under the personal guidance of its top leader Kim Jong Un.

"The launching drill was conducted with the aim at calming down the belligerence of the U.S. which has recently cried out for using military muscle against the DPRK, and at bolstering up operation capability for attack and counterattack to counter it with swift and powerful military counteraction, examining the order to deal with nuclear warheads and confirming action procedure of actual war," said Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the official news agency of DPRK.

A Hwasong-12 medium-range ballistic missile "zoomed to the sky with dazzling flash and big explosion" and "crossed the sky above Hokkaido of Japan along the preset flight track and accurately hit the preset target waters in the Pacific," said the report.

The missile was fired from Sunam near Pyongyang and flew 3700 km with an altitude of 770 km and hit the targeted spot in the northern Pacific, according to earlier media reports.

Kim said the "combat efficiency and reliability of Hwasong-12 were thoroughly verified, operation members' capacity for actual war is also very perfect and the work for increasing combat power of Hwasong-12 has been realized," according to KCNA.

Kim also said the the final goal of DPRK in developing its nuclear and missile programs was to establish a strategic equilibrium with the United States.

"Our final goal is to establish the equilibrium of real force with U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military option for the DPRK," he was quoted as saying by KCNA.