North Korea’s Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) on Tuesday conducted a launch of the Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed on Wednesday.

The launch, KCNA said, was a response to ongoing joint military drills, known as Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG), between the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised the launch and said it represented a “curtain-raiser of… resolute countermeasures against the 11-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian (UFG) drills.”