The U.S. Defense Department declined comment Wednesday on North Korea's claims of success in this week's test of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, only saying the U.S. takes all missile launches seriously.

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said that Wednesday's test of what it calls the Hwasong-10 medium long-range strategic ballistic missile, known as Musudan in the outside world, was successfully carried out with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance.

"We are not going to comment on intelligence matters. The bottom line is we take all missile launches seriously and consider these actions provocative in nature," Cmdr. Gary Ross, a Pentagon spokesman, told Yonhap News Agency.

"We strongly condemn this and other North Korean missile launches in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology," he said.

The KCNA said the missile flew out of the atmosphere as it soared to an altitude of 1,413.6 kilometers before successfully re-entering the atmosphere and landing in the targeted waters about 400 kilometers away from the launching site.

If confirmed, the launch would mark important progress in the North's missile program as re-entry technology has been considered one of the hardest parts the North must overcome before developing a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. (Yonhap)