North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstering nuclear forces this year during a visit to the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, state media KCNA said on Wednesday.

South Korea 's Yonhap News Agency said North Korea might be using a vertical cold-launch system to fire the missiles. The system, which is commonly associated with submarine- and ship-based weapons, ejects a missile from its container before the missile ignites midair.

North Korea has test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided missiles, the North's state media reported Sunday, quoting Kim as saying that Pyongyang's deterrence means are being perfected.

North Korea says it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.

North Korea announced it had performed a test of its cruise missile system on Saturday. It was the communist country’s fourth known missile launch since November and the second in less than a week since President Donald Trump ’s inauguration.