North Korea's state media on Tuesday ramped up criticism against joint military drills by South Korea and the United States, calling them a "nuclear war exercise," but made no mention of the North's ballistic missile test a day earlier.

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles following criticism of South Korea-U.S. military drills, which Pyongyang labeled dangerous. The incident follows a South Korean error during drills that led to accidental bombings near the North-Korean border.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles and ordered full readiness to use nuclear attack capability, which would ensure the most effective defence for the country,