Korean People's Army Strategic Force

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful test of a solid-fuel engine for a "new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile", Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday.

The test was carried out on Tuesday by the North's Missile Administration at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in the northwest of the country, according to the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Wednesday, Seoul's military said, part of a string of weapons tests this year that have accompanied increasingly aggressive rhetoric from leader Kim Jong Un.

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Friday, Seoul's military said, continuing a fresh streak of weapons testing as Kim Jong Un's regime ramps up what it calls "war preparations".

North Korea fired another round of cruise missiles on Tuesday, according to Seoul's military, extending a week-long flurry of tests that Pyongyang has said include a new generation of weapons.

South Korea's military "detected several unknown cruise missiles launched into the West Sea of North Korea around 07:00 (2200 GMT)", Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea said Friday it flight-tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, a possible breakthrough in its efforts to acquire a more powerful, harder-to-detect weapon targeting the continental United States.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries launched their biggest joint military exercises in years Monday, as North Korea said it tested submarine-launched cruise missiles in an apparent protest of the drills it views as an invasion rehearsal.

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea early Sunday, Seoul's military said, the seventh such launch in two weeks, just hours after a nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier wrapped up joint drills off the Korean peninsula.

North Korea confirmed it had test-fired two "new-type tactical guided missiles"

The two missiles successfully hit their targets in waters 600 kilometres off the coast and the new weapons system can carry a warhead weight of 2.5 tonnes, according to the report.

North Korea on March 25 test-fired its first ballistic missiles since President Joe Biden took office, as it expands its military capabilities and increases pressure on Washington while nuclear negotiations remain stalled.

North Korea on April 14 fired several suspected cruise missiles towards the sea, the South's military said.    

The "multiple projectiles" fired from Munchon in the east of the country were believed to be "short-range cruise missiles," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.