North Korea said Sunday it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.-South Korean military drills that target the North.

North Korea test-fired strategic cruise missiles on Saturday the official Korean Central News Agency reported, marking a third launch this month as Donald Trump returned to power in the US.

North Korea has tested sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided missiles, Pyongyang's state media reported on Sunday. State-controlled KCNA news agency quoted the country's Missile Administration as stating the test-fire,

North Korea conducted a strategic cruise missile test on Saturday, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. The country's leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test, according to the report, which described it as a test-fire of an "important weapon system.

North Korea conducted a test of strategic cruise missiles from the sea, overseen by Kim Jong Un, KCNA reports. North Korea conducted a test of strategic cruise missiles from the sea on Saturday. This information was reported by the North Korean agency KCNA on Sunday morning local time.

North Korea has carried out its first weapons test since the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on 20 January. The test involved what Pyongyang described as "strategic" cruise missiles, a term often associated with nuclear-capable weaponry.

SEOUL: North Korea said on Sunday it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed "the toughest" response to what it called the escalation of US-South Korean military drills that target the North.