North Korea says its railway-based missile regiment conducted a firing drill on Friday, and that two tactical guided missiles hit their targets in the Sea of Japan.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party, reported on Saturday that the drill was conducted by a rail-borne regiment in North Pyongan Province in the country's northwest.

Photos accompanying the report show missiles blasting into the sky.

The report says the aim of the drill was to improve the regiment's proficiency. It says senior officials of the Academy of National Defense Science attended the test and discussed ways to set up a railway-borne missile system nationwide.

South Korea's military said on Friday that the North launched two projectiles toward the Sea of Japan from a location somewhere around Uiju in North Pyongan Province. It said the projectiles are believed to have been short-range ballistic missiles.

The North's announcement appears to be referring to the same projectiles.

Last September, Pyongyang announced a similar drill by the newly-formed regiment. It said the launch was conducted in a mountainous area in the central part of the country.

This is the third time in 2022 that the North has announced a missile launch. The first two occasions involved what Pyongyang said were hypersonic missiles.

Observers say the North is trying to show the world that it has a multi-pronged missile capacity.