North Korea test-fired what it called a new type of 'long-range cruise missile' over the weekend amid a long standoff with United States over denuclearisation
The missiles are"a strategic weapon of great significance" and flew 1,500 km before hitting their targets and falling into the country's territorial waters, state media said.
The test launches, which took place on both Saturday and Sunday, were observed by high-level officials, KCNA said early on Monday, adding that the tests had been carried out "successfully". It also said the development of the missile system held "strategic significance", giving North Korea "another effective deterrence means" for protecting the state and aiding in "strongly containing the military manoeuvres of the hostile forces".North seeking to develop smaller bombs
The test launches came just a few days after a scaled-back parade in Pyongyang to mark the 73rd anniversary of the country's founding. Pyongyang is under a range of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, which it continues to pursue. But the impoverished North has never shown any indication it would be willing to surrender its nuclear arsenal, and has rebuffed South Korean efforts to revive dialogue.Last month, the UN atomic agency said Pyongyang appeared to have started its plutonium-producing reprocessing reactor at Yongbyon, calling it a "deeply troubling" development, and Kim's sister and key adviser Kim Yo Jong demanded the withdrawal of US troops from the peninsula.