North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un 'oversaw strike drill' for multiple rocket launchers

Missile tests the first since November 2017 aimed at putting pressure on Washington

(AFP/Getty)

Kim Jong-un oversaw a major “strike drill” testing various missile components, state media in North Korea has confirmed.

Several short-range projectiles were fired into the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the Korean Central News Agency reported.

The purpose of the drill was to test performance of "large-caliber long-range multiple rocket launchers and tactical guided weapons," it said.

Confirmation of the tests – first reported by South Korea – makes it the first missile launch by Pyongyang since November 2017.

They are the first such launches since Mr Kim and US president Donald Trump held two summits in June last year and February aimed at easing tensions on the troubled peninsula.

The drill – carried out from the eastern city of Wonsan – was immediately interpreted as an attempt by North Korea to exert pressure on Washington to give ground in negotiations aimed at denuclearising the region and lifting crippling economic sanctions.

"What was sobering for me was that unexpectedly, there was a photo of short-range, ground-to-ground ballistic missile, otherwise known as the North's version of Iskander," said Kim Dong-yub, a military expert at Kyungnam University's Institute of Far Eastern Studies in South Korea.

These new, solid fuel ballistic missiles can fly as far as 311 miles, he added, putting the entire peninsula within range. They are also capable of neutralizing the advanced US anti-missile defence system, known as THAAD, which is deployed in South Korea, military analysts say.

The launch did not, however, strictly speaking, break Mr Kim's promises to pause nuclear and ballistic missile testing as the weapons did not fall into these categories.

"North Korea only promised a self-imposed moratorium of testing long-range missiles such as ICBMs that can hit the US homeland [so] we should not be shocked by a short-range launch," said Harry Kazianis, director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest think tank in Washington.

Mr Trump, himself, said in a Twitter post that he was still confident he could reach an agreement with Mr Kim.

"I believe that Kim Jong-un fully realises the great economic potential of North Korea, & will do nothing to interfere or end it," he wrote. "He also knows that I am with him & does not want to break his promise to me. Deal will happen!"

South Korea, which estimated the missiles flew up to 149 miles, called on its neighbour to “stop acts that escalate military tension on the Korean Peninsula".