North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un said the country's latest missile tests are part of strengthening its military to "fend off enemy invasion," amid ongoing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Confirming a cruise missile test on Wednesday, North Korean state-run media said Kim supervised the test-fire of a new-type surface-to-sea missile Padasuri-6.
"The missiles flew over the East Sea for more than 1,400 seconds to hit the target boat," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.
On Wednesday, the South Korean military said North Korea fired an unspecified number of cruise missiles off its eastern coast.
The launches marked the fifth time this year that Pyongyang has fired such missiles.
Kim, expressing satisfaction over the successful launch of Padasuri-6, called it a part of strengthening and equipping its navy.
"It is not important how many lines exist in the West Sea of Korea and there is no need to thrash out the rights and wrongs. What is clear is that when the enemy intrudes into the maritime border recognized by us, we will regard it as an encroachment upon the sovereignty of the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and an armed provocation against it," KCNA quoted Kim as saying.
Kim also directed its military to bolster its preparedness in the border waters north of Yonphyong Island and Paekryong Island, which he claimed "frequently invaded by the enemies" warships including destroyers, escort ships, and speedboats.
He also accused South Korea of its battleships intruding into the waters of North Korea, saying they "seriously encroach upon its sovereignty," and stressed his country's need to thoroughly defend the maritime sovereignty by force of arms and actions, not by any rhetoric, statement, and public notice.
"Steadfast is the stand and will of the KPA (Korean People's Army) to firmly defend the state sovereignty and security with its legitimate and rightful exercise of the right to self-defence by dint of strong military muscle," he said.
