North Korea launched ICBM Hwasong-19 on October 31. (Source: KVNA)

North Korean President Kim Jong-un affirmed that this is an irreversible step in developing the means to transport nuclear weapons of this country.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), this test set important milestones, affirming the absolute power of the country's armed forces.

The ICBM, named Hwasong-19, was launched from the Pyongyang area, flying at an altitude of 7,687.5 km and traveling 1,001.2 km in 5,156 seconds - the longest flight time ever for a North Korean missile.

The launch came just days before the US presidential election on November 5. Observers said the move had two purposes: to demonstrate its ability to strike the US mainland and to divert attention from recent strong reactions from the West to North Korea's troop deployment to Russia.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, this launch set a new record for flight time when the missile remained in the air for 86 minutes. The missile landed about 200 km west of Japan's Okushiri Island, outside the country's exclusive economic zone.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi Yoshimasa warned that this ICBM has the potential to exceed a range of 15,000 km if launched on a normal trajectory.

Just before that, the US, Japan and South Korea issued a joint statement strongly reacting to North Korea's ICBM launch.

In a phone call between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, the two sides stressed that this was "a violation of many resolutions of the United Nations Security Council".

Meanwhile, many UN Security Council members including the UK, Malta, Slovenia, the US, France, South Korea and Japan have requested an emergency meeting on November 4 to discuss North Korea's latest ICBM launch.