North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile (IRBM) on Monday, state media KCNA said on Tuesday, pledging to accelerate the country's nuclear and missile capabilities.

The JCS said the South Korean military has heightened surveillance for additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture to share info with the U.S. and Japan.

By developing hypersonic weapons and testing them before the presidential changeover in the United States, North Korea has a significant bargaining chip to use for whenever the new Trump administration comes looking to continue their previous diplomacy with Kim Jong-un.

North Korea has tested a new hypersonic missile, which Kim Jong-un said would help deter the country’s Pacific rivals, state media reported on Tuesday.

North Korea confirmed on Tuesday it had successfully tested a new intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a hypersonic warhead. — Ukrinform.

North Korean state media said Tuesday that the new weapon would help "contain" any enemy in the Pacific region.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said a North Korean missile test carried out during his visit to Seoul on Monday was a reminder of the need to deepen Washington's cooperation with South Korea and Japan to deter an emboldened Pyongyang.

The weapons test happened while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with South Korean officials.View on euronews

North Korea says its latest weapons test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike targets in the Pacific.

Trump's personal diplomacy couldn't solve the North Korean nuclear conundrum first time around. What are his chances now?

It was North Korea's first missile launch since Nov. 5, and coincided with a visit to South Korea by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which he pledged bilateral and trilateral cooperation, including with Japan,