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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to complete his nuclear weapons programme in the face of strengthening sanctions after he inspected a powerful new intermediate-range missile that was fired over Japan, according to state news agency KCNA.

The North's state media carried Kim's comments on Saturday, a day after US and South Korean militaries detected the missile launch from the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

KCNA said North Korea's goal is reaching an "equilibrium" of military force with the United States and to "make the US rulers dare not talk about military option for the DPRK".

DPRK stands for North Korea's formal name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Pyongyang had fired its second missile over Japan in less than a month on Friday, prompting the United States to say it has military options to deal with the North.

According to Japanese officials, a projectile was launched at 6:57am local time on Friday (21:57 GMT Thursday) and flew over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido before falling into the Pacific Ocean - 2,000km east of Cape Erimo.

South Korea's defence ministry said the missile travelled about 3,700km and reached a maximum altitude of 770km - both higher and further than previous tests.

The test came just days after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose tough new sanctions on Pyongyang in response to North Korea's sixth and largest nuclear earlier this month.

KCNA confirmed the missile was a Hwasong-12 missile and said that it hit its target accurately. A Hwasong-12 missile was also launched over Japan last month.

The US Pacific Command said Friday's missile did not pose a threat to North America or to the US Pacific territory of Guam, which Pyongyang has threatened to bracket with "enveloping fire".

*Agencies