Seoul, March 21 North Korea has successfully test-fired its latest surface-to-air missile system, state media reported on Friday, as South Korea and the United States wrapped up their annual joint military drills.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the launch the previous day of the anti-aircraft missile system that was recently put into full-scale production, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korea said the test-firing was aimed at examining the "comprehensive performance" of the system, claiming that it proved the missile's combat fast response is "advantageous" and "highly reliable".
Photos released alongside the report showed what appeared to be a launched missile hitting a target and exploding, and Kim smiled contentedly apparently at the test result.
Kim said the country's army will be equipped with "another major defence weapons system with laudable combat performance," expressing gratitude to the research group in charge and relevant munitions industry enterprise for strengthening national defence capability, the KCNA said.
South Korea's military said it had detected the launch of multiple surface-to-air missiles in real-time from the North's western port city of Nampho the previous day, adding further analysis is underway, Yonhap news agency reported.
The launch took place at around 9 a.m. before South Korea and the US announced the completion of their annual springtime Freedom Shield exercise after an 11-day run, a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official said.
Another military official said North Korea is presumed to have used a cruise missile as a mid-air target for the latest test of the surface-to-air missile.
"An anti-aircraft or surface-to-air missile is used for defensive purposes. But since a cruise missile can be used for attacks against us, we are focusing more on such an aspect," the official told reporters.
North Korea has denounced the joint drills as a rehearsal for invasion and has a track record of staging weapons tests in protest, but it did not carry out major provocations this year.
South Korea issued a warning against North Korea's additional provocations.
"I once again make clear that our military training is an annual and defensive exercise to deter war and guard peace," Kim In-ae, deputy spokesperson at Seoul's Unification Ministry, said in a regular press briefing.
"North Korea should not make the wrong judgment of using the exercise as a pretext for provocation."
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