Kim Jong-un oversees North Korean military drill

Yuri KADOBNOV / AFP

North Korea has carried out tests on a number of missile components.

Overseen by the country's leader Kim Jong-un, the so-called "strike drill" included the firing of tactical guided weapons into the Sea of Japan.

Pyongyang says that the aim of the exercise was to assess the performance of "large-caliber multiple rocket launchers."

They include a new ground-to-ground ballistic missile which is capable of covering a distance of 500 kilometres, putting the whole Korean peninsula in its range.

Although not involving the use of long-range ballistic missiles, the test is in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions.

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