The agency reported that the test involved a first-stage engine of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile within a radius of 170 to 200 kilometers, which is "favorable for ensuring maximum safety and measuring the flight characteristics of individual mobile warheads."
The separated warheads were guided correctly to three targets, KCNA reported, adding that the effectiveness of a decoy separated from the missile was also verified by air radar.
The latest test is aimed at securing the multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle capabilities of North Korea, the report said.
Later in the day, Col. Lee Sung-jun, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, dismissed the reports of the successful launch as "deception and exaggeration," adding that the photos provided as proof of the launch were actually pictures of the Hwasong-17 liquid-fueled missile launched in March 2023.
"North Korea failed in its last space rocket launch and failed again yesterday, and we believe that there was a motive to cover these up," Lee was quoted as saying by the South's Yonhap news agency, adding that the photos could have been forged.
On Wednesday, North Korea reportedly launched an unspecified ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan. Yonhap cited a military source as saying that Pyongyang appeared to have test-fired a hypersonic missile, but the test was believed to have failed since the missile flew about 250 kilometers.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported, citing a government source, that the North's missile appeared to have landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.
The Japanese and South Korean foreign ministries and the US State Department condemned the latest missile launch by North Korea.