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SEOUL, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- North Korea conducted a firing drill of its Hwasal-2 long-range strategic cruise missiles, state media reported Wednesday, Pyongyang's third such launch in a week. The missiles were fired Tuesday into the Yellow Sea as a training exercise, according to a brief statement from the North's military carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
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"The drill made a contribution to checking the [Korean People's Army's] rapid counterattack posture and improving its strategic striking capability," the statement said.
South Korea's military announced Tuesday that it had detected the launch of several cruise missiles off the North's west coast.
The Hwasal-2 has a range of around 1,240 miles, according to Pyongyang, which first tested the missile in January 2022. An earlier version, the Hwasal-1, was unveiled in September 2021 and has a reported range of around 930 miles.
Cruise missiles, which can carry nuclear warheads, fly at lower altitudes than ballistic missiles and pose a challenge for air defense systems. Images released by KCNA on Wednesday showed a missile skimming the surface of the frozen sea before detonating against a rocky islet.
The drill followed a pair of tests of the North's new Pulhwasal-3-31 cruise missiles over the past week, which included a claimed submarine launch.
North Korea has used a steady stream of weapons tests and bellicose rhetoric to keep tensions on the Korean Peninsula at their highest in years.
Earlier this month, the North unveiled an underwater drone it claims is capable of detonating a nuclear weapon and test-launched a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic warhead.
Pyongyang also fired hundreds of artillery rounds near the de facto maritime border with the South, prompting evacuation orders on a pair of islands.
North Korea's relationship with Washington and Seoul has deteriorated sharply as it grows closer to its former Cold War ally, Russia.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare overseas visit to Russia in September and the two sides have held several official exchanges since.
Washington and its allies claim that the North is supplying artillery and equipment to Moscow for its attacks on Ukraine while likely receiving advanced technology for its space and missile programs in return.
Kim, meanwhile, recently called for changing the North's constitution to define South Korea as its "primary enemy state and invariable principal enemy."
