North Korea's foreign ministry vowed the "toughest counteraction" against the United States as long as Washington "refuses" the country's sovereignty.

The action suggested North Korea will likely maintain its its confrontational stance against the U.S. for now, even though President Donald Trump said he intends to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In a statement later in the day, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles from inland areas towards waters off the west coast at around 4 p.m. (0700 GMT) on Saturday.

Seoul: North Korea announced Sunday that it had tested a cruise missile system, marking its third weapons display this year. The move comes as North Korea vows "the toughest" response to U.S.-South Korean military drills, which it deems a threat.

SEOUL: North Korea conducted on Jan 25 a strategic cruise missile test, state media KCNA reported on Jan 26. The country's leader, Kim Jong Un, oversaw the test, according to the report which described it as a test-fire of an "important weapon system."

North Korea test-fired strategic cruise missiles on Saturday the official Korean Central News Agency reported, marking a third launch this month as Donald Trump returned to power in the US.