North Korea has fired its "new tactical guided weapon" under leader Kim Jong-un's guidance in a demonstration of power, the state media reported Friday, adding that the firings were aimed at sending "stern warning to the South Korean military rebels."
A day after North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that the missiles, launched from Hodo Peninsula near the North's eastern coastal town of Wonsan, aimed at sending "stern warnings" to South Korea who are deploying "ultramodern offensive weapons into South Korea" and pushing to "hold (a) military exercise in defiance of the repeated warnings" from North Korea.
"He (Kim) emphasised that we cannot but develop nonstop super powerful weapon systems to remove the potential and direct threats to the security of our country that exist in the South," it said.
On Thursday, South Korea confirmed that the missiles were "a new kind of short-range ballistic missile," that flew up to 430 kilometres and 690 kilometres, respectively.
After watching the firings, Kim expressed satisfaction over "the direct confirmation and conviction of the rapid anti-firepower capability of the tactical guided weapon system and the specific features of the low-altitude gliding and leaping flight orbit of the tactical guided missile, which would be hard to intercept, and its combat power," the report said.
The launches came less than a month after US President Donald Trump and Kim held a surprise meeting at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom and agreed to resume working-level nuclear negotiations.
"The South Korean chief executive should not make a mistake of ignoring the warning from Pyongyang, however offending it may be," it added.
Meanwhile, the United States has urged North Korea to stop provocations and return to talks after the regime launched two new short-range ballistic missiles in defiance of diplomatic efforts to denuclearise the country.
At a press briefing, US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said that Washington is aware of the reports of the launches in the first such provocation since early May.
"We urge no more provocations," she said, adding that "all parties" should abide by their obligations under the UN Security Council resolutions.
( With inputs from ANI )