North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has overseen firing drills involving "super-large multiple rocket launchers," the country's state-run media said Tuesday, a day after Tokyo and Seoul detected the launch by Pyongyang of short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan.
North Korea's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, ran a photo showing six rockets being fired simultaneously Monday.
The North Korean military also conducted a test to simulate the midair explosion of a shell from a super-large multiple rocket launcher at a preset altitude, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim said "in the future, the destructive offensive means possessed by our army should more thoroughly fulfill their missions to block and suppress the possibility of war with the constant perfect preparedness to collapse the capital of the enemy," according to KCNA.
Pyongyang claims its super-large multiple rocket launchers are capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads.
The North Korean leader expressed "great satisfaction" as the artillerymen displayed "high mobility and accurate and strong striking power" in carrying out their mission, the news agency said.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said Tokyo believes North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles from the western part of the country, adding Japan will work closely with the United States and South Korea to collect and analyze data, and monitor the situation.
Monday's launches came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Seoul for a multilateral conference on advancing democracy hosted by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Last Thursday, Seoul and Washington wrapped up a large annual military exercise aimed at neutralizing the North Korean nuclear and missile threat using land, sea, air, cyber and space assets.
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