North Korea on Saturday (January 15) said its railway-based missile regiment conducted a firing drill a day earlier, with two tactical guided missiles hitting a set target in the East Sea, local media reported.
The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported the unit in North Pyongan Province bordering China staged the drill aimed at "checking and judging the proficiency" in its action procedures, Yonhap News Agency reported.
It marks the North's second known missile test using a railway launch platform since the last one in September, and the country's third show of force this year.
"The regiment received a firepower mission at short notice from the General Staff in the morning on Friday before swiftly moving to the firing ground, and precisely struck the set target in the East Sea of Korea with two tactical guided missiles," Yonhap News Agency reported citing KCNA.
The unit's combat posture "demonstrated high manoeuvrability and rate of hits in the drill was highly appreciated," according to KCNA.
The drill was supervised by commanding officers of the Korean People's Army and leading officials of the Academy of Defense Science, according to the KCNA. It did not mention whether leader Kim Jong-un attended it, Yonhap News Agency reported.
It further reported that South Korea's military on Friday said that the North's latest projectiles, launched from Uiju in the province, flew around 430 kilometres at an altitude of 36 km and at a top speed of Mach 6, six times the speed of sound.
Earlier, on Wednesday (local time), the US announced sanctions on eight North Korean and Russian individuals and entities for supporting North Korea's ballistic missile programmes.
