North Korea has claimed to have tested-fired a new type of “tactical guided weapon.”
Leader Kim Jong Un was reported to have said "the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People's Army."
This would be the first public weapons test since talks in Hanoi between Mr Kim and US President Donald Trump ended without agreement.
A report, carried by the Korean Central News Agency, said the "tactical guided weapon" successfully tested in a "peculiar mode of guiding flight" and demonstrated the ability to deliver a "powerful warhead."
North Korea made a similar claim last year in what observers saw as an attempt to apply pressure on the US.
Last week, Mr Kim said Mr Trump needed to have the "right attitude" for talks to continue after the summit between the two broke up in February.
A South Korean analyst said that details in the North's media report indicate it could have been a new type of cruise missile.
Some in Seoul worry that the North will turn back to actions seen as provocative by outsiders as a way to force Washington to drop its hardline negotiating stance and grant the North's demand for a removal of crushing international sanctions.
A string of increasingly powerful weapons tests in 2017 and Mr Trump's response of "fire and fury" had many fearing war before the North shifted to diplomacy.
Mr Trump said last month that he "would be very disappointed if I saw testing."
As the diplomacy stalls, there have been fresh reports of new activity at a North Korean missile research centre and long-range rocket site where Pyongyang is believed to build missiles targeting the US mainland.
The White House said it was aware of the report and had no comment. The Pentagon also said it was aware but had no information to provide at this point.
