Was North Korea's latest missile launch an olive branch in disguise?

North Korea's test-firing Wednesday of its most powerful missile to date has left experts wondering what may be in store for Northeast Asia and the United States, with some saying the unusual lengths taken by Pyongyang to stress its commitment to world peace in its latest statement point to the potential for a breakthrough in a long-stalled effort at dialogue.

Soon after the launch of what the regime described as a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, the North Korean government issued a statement boasting that the regime had "finally realized the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force."

Pyongyang then said its pursuit of the "strategic weapon" had been intended to "defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country from the U.S. imperialists' nuclear blackmail policy," and emphasized that it would "not pose any threat to any country and region as long as the interests of the DPRK (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) are not infringed upon."