North Korea launches more missiles into sea as US-South Korea military drills wind down

North Korea continued missile testing this week, firing several more cruise missiles into the sea on Saturday, the South Korean military reported.

The missile tests come as joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea ended this week.

The North Korean government called the 11-day training exercises “preparation for invasion,” sparking multiple rounds of missile tests in recent weeks. 

The nation launched two ballistic missiles Wednesday night, simulating a “scorched earth” nuclear attack targeting South Korean military command centers. Those tests came alongside command drills where the North Korean military rehearsed an occupation of the South.

“Owing to the reckless confrontational moves of the US and other hostile forces, the waters off the Korean Peninsula have been reduced into the world’s biggest war hardware concentration spot, the most unstable waters with the danger of a nuclear war,” leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech this week, according to state media.

North Korea has performed over 100 missile tests since the start of last year, as tensions rise between the country and the U.S.-South Korean alliance. Kim ordered factories to “drastically boost” production of ballistic missiles earlier this month.

The U.S. warned this week that an arms deal between North Korea and Russia may be on the horizon, saying negotiations are “actively advancing.”

“On numerous occasions, the DPRK has said publicly that they will not sell to Russia, but we remain concerned that the DPRK continues to consider providing military support to Russia’s military forces in Ukraine,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters on Wednesday.