KYODO NEWS - Jul 4, 2017 - 15:46 | All, World

North Korea announced Tuesday its first "successful" launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile through its official broadcaster.

If this type of missile becomes fully operational, it could potentially deliver a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland.

The announcement came after the launch of a ballistic missile in the morning. It flew about 39 minutes and reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometers, before landing in waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to the announcement.

In his New Year's address, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country had reached the final stage of preparing to test-launch the long-range missile.