North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hailed its test of a mid-range ballistic missile as a “great event” ensuring his country’s ability to strike U.S. interests in the Pacific, state media reported Thursday.

Kim showed “great satisfaction” with Wednesday’s successful launch of the Mudusan missile, dubbed the Hwasong-10, which enhances Pyongyang’s nuclear strike capability, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The KCNA quoted Kim as saying the country needed “a powerful means of attack” to protect the people from the threat of “hostile forces” including the United States. Kim reportedly said his country now had the “certain capability”