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According to North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the launches were "personally organized" by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "as part of the power demonstration to send a solemn warning to the South Korean military."
Kim Jong Un said he was "gratified" by the performance of the "tactical guided weapon system," which came amid what appears to be another impasse in the nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States.
The North Korean leader criticized South Korea's decision to hold joint military exercises with the United States next month, and acquire "ultra-modern offensive weapons," according to KCNA report published Friday.
KCNA reported Friday that Kim considered South Korea's military maneuvers to be "suicidal" acts that could torpedo the recent diplomatic progress between the two sides. He also cautioned President Moon Jae-in to heed "the warning from Pyongyang."
A new type of threat
South Korea has already said that it views the launch as a "military threat" designed to undermine progress toward stability on the Korean Peninsula.
On Thursday, South Korea's National Security Council's standing committee concluded the launches had involved "a new type of short-range ballistic missile," suggesting that the isolated country has been actively developing its military capabilities.
US Army Col. Lee Peters, a spokesman for the Combined Forces Command that integrates US and South Korean forces, said Washington also concluded that a new type of weapon was fired.
The Kim regime said North Korea would stop testing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles during negotiations with Washington, but has not given any assurances regarding other weapons. Still, the tests are a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which bar North Korea from testing and launching ballistic missiles.
South Korea's presidential office said late Thursday it would make a "final assessment" on the launch after analyzing with the information with the US.