N.Korea confirms latest weapons tests

North Korea conducted tests of an upgraded long-range cruise missile and a warhead of a tactical guided missile this week

North Korea conducted tests of an upgraded long-range cruise missile and a warhead of a tactical guided missile this week, as leader Kim Jong Un visited a munitions factory producing a "major weapon system," state media KCNA said on Friday, Qazet.az reports citing Reuters.

An update to a long-range cruise missile system was tested on Tuesday, and another test was held to confirm the power of a conventional warhead for a surface-to-surface tactical guided missile on Thursday, KCNA said.

In a separate dispatch, Kim lauded the factory for achieving progress in "producing major weapons" and holding a "very important position and duty" in modernising the country's armed forces and realising its national defence development strategy.

The reports came a day after South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the apparent launch of two short-range ballistic missiles, drawing condemnation from the United States for what would be the sixth round of missile tests this month.