North Korea is practicing for 'merciless' attacks on US and South Korea

The North Korean military has described its latest series of missile tests as drills for "relentless" strikes on key US and South Korean targets. The Korean People's Army will proceed more thoroughly and mercilessly the more stubborn the enemy's military provocations are, the General Staff said on Monday after a report by state television.

According to the information, ballistic missiles for attacks on enemy air bases, surface-to-air missiles for shooting down aircraft and strategic cruise missiles, which landed in international waters about 80 kilometers off the South Korean coastal city of Ulsan, were tested.

The North Korean military said it was also testing a ballistic missile with a warhead designed to cripple the enemy's task force system. This could mean a simulation of attacks with electromagnetic pulses, but observers doubt that North Korea has this technology.

The statement made no mention of Thursday's suspected launch of an ICBM that could reach the US mainland. However, the country's main newspaper published a photo of a similar missile as part of its coverage of last week's weapons tests.

The statement underscored ruler Kim Jong Un's determination not to make concessions in the face of expanding military exercises by his rivals. Some experts have said Kim is using the South Korean and US military exercises as an excuse to modernize the country's weapon arsenal.

Over the past week, North Korea has fired dozens of missiles and sent war planes toward the sea. Evacuation warnings were then issued in some areas in Japan and South Korea.

The US and South Korea responded by expanding joint air force exercises, which the North sees as a harbinger of an invasion.