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.

The moves suggested North Korea will likely maintain its run of weapons tests and its confrontational stance against the US.

North Korea said Sunday it tested sea-to-surface strategic guided cruise missiles the day before, vowing to take the "toughest countermeasure" against the US in the first week of Washington's new administration.

Kim Jong Un oversaw the missile test — the first since US President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Trump has said he would reach out to Kim in his second term.

North Korea says 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 t

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,