SEOUL: A North Korean missile unit conducted a drill to launch two tactical ballistic missiles on Tuesday, and the missiles “precisely hit” the target, an islet, the country’s state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.

The missiles are believed to be two short-range ones that the South Korean military said Tuesday were fired by North Korea toward the Sea of Japan the same day.

According to the KCNA report, the missiles traveled about 611 kilometers after being launched from an area around Jangyon County, South Hwanghae Province.

The commander of the missile unit was quoted as saying that the missiles “will surely annihilate the enemy if they fight it” and showed a resolve to intensify the training.

According to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency, photos carried by KCNA showed Pyongyang firing from a transporter erector launcher what appeared to be KN-23 missiles, which are capable of flying on an irregular trajectory and covering the whole of South Korea.

Tuesday’s missile launches came after North Korea fired two cruise missiles from a submarine in the Sea of Japan on Sunday. The repeated launches are apparently aimed at countering the Freedom Shield joint military exercise being conducted by the United States and South Korea from Monday through March 23.

JIJI Press