North Korea says it conducted a "launching drill" of its Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile on Thursday. The missile is believed to have enough range to strike anywhere on the US mainland.

The ruling Workers' Party's newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Friday that the missile was launched from the Pyongyang International Airport and reached a maximum altitude of 6,045 kilometers before it landed on a preset area in the open waters.

The newspaper says the drill was conducted in response to the large-scale joint exercises that the US and South Korea are carrying out.

This is the first time that the country has described the launch of a Hwasong-17 as a "drill." Last November North Korea reported that the missile's "final test" had been a success.

Japanese Self-Defense officials said on Thursday that the North had launched an ICBM-class missile in a lofted trajectory from around Sunan on the outskirts of Pyongyang on Thursday. They added that it had fallen into the Sea of Japan outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Observers believe Rodong Sinmun's report on Friday refers to the suspected ICBM that was launched on the previous day.