North Korea said Saturday it test-fired a tactical ballistic missile equipped with a new autonomous navigation system, with the drill overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, according to the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
The South Korean military detected Friday the launch of what were believed to be short-range ballistic missiles fired toward the Sea of Japan from an area near North Korea's eastern port city of Wonsan. They were estimated to have flown about 300 kilometers before falling into the sea.
KCNA said the accuracy and reliability of the autonomous navigation system was verified through the test and Kim expressed "great satisfaction" with the outcome.
Kim also visited a defense industrial complex on Friday and stressed the need to continue to accelerate production "for more rapidly bolstering the nuclear force" of the country, the news agency said.
Referring to "reckless military confrontation moves" by South Korea and the United States, the leader said, "enemies would be afraid of and dare not to play with fire only when they witness the nuclear combat posture of our state which is hard for them to feel," KCNA added.
His remarks came after Seoul and Washington conducted joint aerial drills involving stealth jets on Thursday.
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