North Korea says weekend missile launches were part of coordinated attack drill

North Korea said multiple ballistic missiles it fired over the weekend were part of a coordinated attack drill involving drones and other weapons aimed at improving its ability to launch counterattacks.

Saturday’s drill involved attack drones, tactical cruise missiles, a large-caliber thermobaric multiple rocket launcher and tactical ballistic missiles, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday.

KCNA said the weapons struck their targets with 100% accuracy. The claim could not be independently verified.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff texted reporters Saturday that it detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Wonsan area on North Korea’s eastern coast at about 5:20 a.m.

The missiles traveled roughly 155 miles, the Joint Chiefs said. U.S. and South Korean officials analyzed the launches and shared information with Japan.

North Korea said the drill focused on coordinating various weapons systems to improve the effectiveness of concentrated strikes and its ability to mount a counterattack.

Yu Chang Son, director of the North’s Artillery Bureau, said the exercise boosted troops’ morale and improved their ability to destroy enemy forces “organizationally and structurally” once ordered to attack, KCNA reported.

North Korea will continue to “steadily master the procedures for counterattack posture on the enemy through practical drills,” Yu said.

Saturday’s launches came a day after the United States, South Korea and Japan concluded the five-day Freedom Edge exercise in international waters near South Korea’s Jeju Island.

KCNA did not link the firepower drill to Freedom Edge in Monday’s report. North Korea, however, had condemned the trilateral training as “reckless” in a Sept. 7 statement.

U.S. Forces Korea said Saturday that the launches did “not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies.” U.S. Pacific Command issued a similar assessment.

South Korea’s presidential office convened an emergency security meeting Saturday and called on the North to immediately stop violating U.N. Security Council resolutions, Yonhap News Agency reported that day.

A spokeswoman for the presidential office did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment Monday.

North Korea previously fired a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, on Aug. 20 during the annual U.S.-South Korea Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.