North Korea missile launch was training exercise for strike on US bases in Japan: KCNA

[SEOUL] North Korea's launch of four missiles on Monday was a training exercise for a strike on US bases in Japan, Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency reported Tuesday.

Leader Kim Jong Un supervised the drill and gave the order for it to start, it said.

"Feasting his eyes on the trails of ballistic rockets", he praised the Hwasong artillery unit that carried it out, KCNA reported.

"The four ballistic rockets launched simultaneously are so accurate that they look like acrobatic flying corps in formation, he said," the agency added, referring to Kim.

The military units involved are "tasked to strike the bases of the US imperialist aggressor forces in Japan in contingency", KCNA said.

Three of the four missiles came down provocatively close to Japan, in waters that are part of Tokyo's exclusive economic zone.

The US and Japan have sought an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the launch.

AFP