SEOUL - 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.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday opened a visit to crisis-riven South Korea, where he will seek delicately to encourage continuity with the policies, but not tactics, of the impeached president.

North Korea test fires a ballistic missile as Blinken visits Seoul, where he warned that Putin could provide Kim Jong Un with advanced space technology.

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.