North Korea alarmed the international community on Tuesday when, after a two-month lull, it fired a Hwasong-15 ICBM into the waters west of Japan. State media touted the launch as its most powerful missile yet. Judging by the missile's peak height reached during its flight, experts say the North now has the capacity to strike nearly any location in the Continental US. Now, the North's state media released dozens of photos and a video after Wednesday's launch of the new Hwasong-15 missile, which North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force".  The photos show Kim Jong-un personally overseeing the launch of the missile, an obvious source of national pride.

Pyongyang claimed the Hwasong-15 reached an altitude of around 4,475 kilometers and flew 950 kilometers during its flight, which lasted 53 minutes.