SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea bragged Friday about its recently tested new intercontinental ballistic missile, calling it “the strongest in the world,” a claim that outside experts viewed as propaganda, even though the test showed progress in the search from the North to a more reliable system. arsenal.

A missile launched by North Korea on Thursday flew higher and stayed in the air longer than any other weapon the country has fired so far. It indicated that the North has made progress in acquiring a nuclear-armed ICBM capable of striking the US mainland. But foreign experts believe the country still needs to master some remaining technological issues before it can acquire such a functioning ICBM.

On Friday, North Korea’s Central News Agency identified the missile as the “Hwasong-19” ICBM, calling it “the world’s strongest strategic missile” and “the perfected weapon system.”

KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch and described it as “an appropriate military action” to express North Korea’s determination to respond to the actions of its enemies that have increased tensions and threats to its national security. North Korea escalated. Kim thanked weapons scientists for demonstrating North Korea’s “unparalleled strategic nuclear strike capability.”

South Korea’s military previously said North Korea could have tested a solid-fuel missile, but Friday’s KCNA report did not say what propellant the Hwasong-19 ICBM uses. Observers say the color of the exhaust flames seen in photos in North Korean media at the launch still indicate that the new ICBM uses solid fuels.

Before Thursday’s test, North Korea’s most advanced ICBM was known as the “Hwasong-18” rocket, which uses solid fuels. Precharged solid propellants make it easier to move rockets and require much less preparation time for launch than liquid propellants that must be fueled before takeoff. So it is more difficult for adversaries to detect launches by solid-fuel rockets.

In recent years, North Korea has reported steady progress in its efforts to acquire nuclear missiles. Many foreign experts believe that North Korea most likely has missiles capable of launching nuclear attacks on all of South Korea, but the country does not yet possess nuclear missiles that could travel to the US mainland.

There are questions about whether North Korea has acquired the technology to protect nuclear warheads from the high-temperature and stressful environment of atmospheric reentry. Many foreign analysts say North Korea also needs improved altitude control and guidance systems for missiles. They say North Korea needs the ability to put multiple nuclear warheads on one missile to defeat its rivals’ missile defenses.

All of North Korea’s known ICBM tests, including Thursday’s, have been conducted at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries. South Korean military spokesman Lee Sung Joon said Thursday that a high-angle launch cannot verify a missile’s reentry vehicle technology, although North Korea has previously claimed to have acquired that technology.

Observers say Thursday’s launch, the North’s first ICBM test in nearly a year, was largely intended to draw U.S. attention just days before the U.S. presidential election and to respond to international condemnation over North Korea’s reported deployment of troops to Russia in support of the war against Ukraine.

North Korea’s reported troop deployment highlights the growing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. South Korea, the U.S. and others worry that North Korea will seek high-tech, sensitive Russian technology to perfect its nuclear and missile programs in exchange for joining the war between Russia and Ukraine.