In a rare publicity move, the Chinese military published early on Thursday morning pictures of its intercontinental ballistic missile launch operation that took place on Wednesday.

The People's Liberation Army Rocket Force publicized four pictures showing the missile's firing moment, showing a big, green-painted missile soaring up into skies after lifting off from a launch vehicle among what appeared to be tropical shrubs.

This has been an unusual move for the PLA because it had hardly published photos of its intercontinental ballistic missiles, let alone images of the missile's launch moment.

The military announced on Wednesday that the PLA Rocket Force launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, carrying dummy warheads, into open waters in the Pacific Ocean.