North Korea test-fires 2 new missiles amid US-South Korea military drills, state media says

LONDON — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test-firing of two newly developed types of missiles, state media reported, launches that came as the United States and South Korea held their annual military drills to the south.

The two missiles tested on Saturday were designed to target aerial threats, including attack drones and cruise missiles, the Korea Central News Agency reported on Sunday.

State media reported few details on the projectiles, other than describing them as “improved” versions, saying they were “based on unique and special technology.”

The launches came days after the Monday start of “Ulchi Freedom Shield 25,” joint military exercises that are ongoing in South Korea. Those training exercises, which include live-fire drills, were scheduled to run through Thursday.

The U.S. State Department in announcing that the drills had begun said they were intended to reaffirm “the ironclad commitment between the U.S. and South Korea to defend their homelands.”

A North Korean military official described those exercises as destabilizing for the Korean Peninsula, accusing the United States and South Korea of “the destruction of balance of power in the region.”

A spokesperson for the Korean People’s Army told Rodong Sinmun, a state-owned newspaper, that the “reckless” drills were being run by “warmongers,” adding that the exercises were pushing the Korean Peninsula into “extreme tension.”

North Korean state media published on Sunday an image of Kim meeting with military officials, along with several images of missiles in mid-air. It was not immediately clear where the missile tests had taken place.

As the drills began on Monday, Kim was touring a North Korean naval destroyer, KCNA reported. He reportedly said during that visit that the U.S.-South Korea drills could “ignite a war” and that North Korea should push for a “rapid expansion of nuclearization.”