Seoul:

North Korea carried out a test-launch of its strategic cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea this week, Pyongyang’s state media reported Friday, in a drill that sought to demonstrate the prowess of its “state nuclear deterrence”.

Leader Kim Jong Un attended the launch, which took place on Wednesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

The agency said the drills were aimed at warning North Korea’s enemies of Pyongyang’s “counterattack capability in any space and the readiness of its various nuke operation means”.

The missiles flew for 130 minutes before they “precisely hit the targets”, KCNA said.

Attending the drill, Kim said it was the responsibility of North Korea’s nuclear armed forces to “defend the national sovereignty and security”.

“Powerful striking ability”, he said, served as “the most perfect deterrence and defence”, KCNA said.

Images in North Korean state media showed Kim, flanked by officials, sporting binoculars and watching a missile strike and destroy a small building on a nearby island.

KCNA did not say where the test took place, but specialist website NK News said it likely took place near the city of Nampho, roughly 130 kilometres (80 miles) from the border with South Korea.

Relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles last year in violation of UN sanctions.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since the 1950 to 1953 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

North Korea last conducted such a test in January, when it said it had launched sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles — Pyongyang’s first since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House.

US and South Korean intelligence also believe that North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to fight against Ukraine and has since suffered hundreds of casualties.

On Thursday, South Korean intelligence told AFP that Pyongyang had dispatched more troops to Russia, though it could not give a precise figure.

It also said North Korea had redeployed soldiers to the frontline in Kursk, where Ukraine previously said they had been withdrawn following heavy losses.

Neither North Korea nor Russia has officially confirmed that Pyongyang’s forces are fighting for Moscow.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)