By Thomas Maresca UPI | Posted by TOE

North Korea test-fired a new air defense missile system and held a strike drill with a long-range strategic cruise missile, state-run media reported Thursday, marking Pyongyang’s fourth round of weapons tests in a week.

The North’s Missile Administration conducted the air defense missile test Wednesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported, without providing a location or detailed specifications.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday it detected multiple missiles fired toward the sea separating Korea and Japan from the Sondok area on the North’s east coast. The missiles flew less than 186 miles, with authorities leaving open the possibility that they included a close-range ballistic missile.

KCNA said the air defense test verified the missile’s materials and guidance technology, along with the system’s target identification, tracking and information-processing capabilities.

Gen. Kim Jong Sik, a member of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Military Commission, oversaw the test with missile administration officials and defense researchers, the agency said.

A unit in the country’s eastern region also conducted a strike drill Wednesday with a long-range strategic cruise missile, which KCNA said successfully hit a simulated airport target.

The test and drill were part of efforts to “put the combat systems on a technically high level and improve the combat reliability of the strategic weapon,” the report said.

The latest launches followed a weapons demonstration last Thursday attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, which included 600mm multiple rocket launchers. Pyongyang subsequently reported testing a cluster warhead for tactical ballistic missiles Saturday and a “dispersal warhead” for a strategic cruise missile Monday.

The tests come as South Korea and the United States conduct their combined Freedom Flag air exercise. Kim Jong Sik criticized the allies’ military drills earlier this week, accusing them of intensifying military activity.

Wednesday’s launches also came as Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader’s powerful sister, rejected dialogue with Washington following U.S. findings blaming Pyongyang for a $6.3 billion cryptocurrency theft.

North Korea has repeatedly accused the allies of using joint military exercises to prepare for an invasion.