North Korea said Sunday it tested sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles the day before, vowing to take the "toughest countermeasure" against the US in the first week of Washington's new administration.
The latest show of force came just days after US President Donald Trump expressed his intent to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The missiles reportedly flew about 1,500 kilometers in elliptical and figure-eight-shaped patterns for 7,507 to 7,511 seconds and precisely hit their intended targets, according to Pyongynang's state-run Korean Central News Agency. The agency added that the test, conducted by the North's Missile Administration, did not have any negative effects on the safety of neighboring countries.
"War deterrence means of the republic (North Korea) is becoming more complete... We will make strenuous efforts to fulfill our calling and duty to defend the sustainable and permanent peace based on powerfully-developed military forces," Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry on Sunday issued a statement vowing tough countermeasures against what it called an "imbalance of strength forced by the military collusion" of South Korea and the US. It decried joint military drills by Seoul and Washington in an apparent reference to the four-day aerial exercise held at an airbase in Wonju, Gangwon Province last week.
This marks the first time the North's dictatorial regime has test-fired missiles in what is seen as a provocation against the Seoul-Washington alliance. It also came days after Trump expressed his willingness to reignite talks with North Korea on Thursday, calling Kim "a smart guy" and saying he plans to reach out to him.
Pyongyang has not mentioned the Trump administration by name in its recent anti-US messages.
