YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS. North Korea on Thursday said it had tested a new air defense missile, TASS reports citing the Voice of Korea radio broadcaster.

According to the radio broadcaster, the launch was "to confirm the normal operation of the launcher and radar and test the combat parameters of the missile, developed by the DPRK Academy of Military Sciences”.

The Academy said the missile's accuracy, speed of response and range had been increased.

Pyongyang on 28 for the first time tested a hypersonic missile, Hwason-8. Earlier this week South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea had launched a short-range missile towards the Sea of Japan. On September 15, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles in the same direction. Both splashed down in Japan's economic zone.