The last was in March 2021. North Korea fired more missiles over the weekend, the official KCNA news agency said.
The test firing took place Saturday and Sunday, in the presence of senior North Korean officials, state media said.
The tests "were carried out successfully", also welcomed the official agency, detailing that flight, guidance and warhead power tests had been carried out.
According to North Korea, the missiles flew 1,500 kilometers before falling into the water in North Korean waters.
North Korea: First photo released by Pyongyang of testing a long-range cruise missile.
Kim Jong Un is not mentioned in the article.
pic.twitter.com/NKPoJm62jT
- Rebecca Rambar (@RebeccaRambar) September 12, 2021
North Korea had eased its footing in recent months on missile testing.
According to a database listing the various North Korean tests, set up and managed by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, the last dated back to March 24, 2021, but it was then a short-range missile.
The last test of a long-range missile dates back to November 28, 2017.
North Korea's long-range missile test is not trivial.
This kind of missile could directly hit the United States and can thus be considered an act of provocation by the United States.
The development of missiles offers "the strategic importance of having another effective deterrent to more reliably guarantee the security of our state and strongly contain the military maneuvers of hostile forces," the official agency reported.
If Donald Trump, then US President, had met Kim Jong-un in 2018 to consider a de-escalation, the negotiations had come to nothing and have since stalled.
It will be interesting to see the reaction of Joe Biden, who arrived at the White House in January, to his new North Korean missile fire.