North Korea tests tactical guided missiles a day after firing two ballistic missiles from Pyongyang airport

State media KCNA, on Tuesday, reported that North Korea fired tactical guided missiles on Monday, the latest in a series of recent tests that highlighted its evolving missile programs.

KCNA’s report came just one day after South Korea’s military said that North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles from an airport in its capital city of Pyongyang.

The North’s official KCNA news agency said a test of tactical guided missiles was conducted by the Academy of Defence Science from the country’s west, in which the system “precisely hit an island target” off the east coast.

“The test-fire was aimed to selectively evaluate tactical guided missiles being produced and deployed and to verify the accuracy of the weapon system,” KCNA said.

It “confirmed the accuracy, security, and efficiency of the operation of the weapon system under production.”

The unusually rapid sequence of launches has drawn US condemnation and a push for new sanctions while Pyongyang warns of stronger actions, raising the specter of a return to the period of “fire and fury” threats in 2017.

Both sides were engaged in a flurry of diplomacy in 2018 but denuclearisation negotiations stalled and slipped back into a standoff following a failed summit in 2019.

North Korea used the Sunan airport to test-fire the Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) in 2017, with leader Kim Jong Un in attendance. Kim did not attend the latest test.