Missiles fired by North Korea on Wednesday were a test of a new "railway-borne missile system", the hermit country's state propaganda claims.
Tensions soared on Wednesday as North and South Korea both launched missiles in the latest escalation of the regions arms race.
The missile system designed by Kim Jong-un's secretive regime was launched from the roof of a train and was being tested as a potential counter-strike to any forces that threaten the country, North Korea's KNCA reported.
Photos released by state media showed a green missile rising on a column of smoke and flame from the roof of a train parked on tracks in a mountainous area.
South Korea had reported the missiles were fired from the central inland area of Yangdok.
The missiles flew 800 km (497 miles) before striking a 'target' in the sea off North Korea's east coast, the state news agency claimed.
On Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese authorities announced they had detected the launch of two ballistic missiles from secretive North Korea, just days after it tested a cruise missile that analysts said could have nuclear capabilities.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga called Pyongyang's missile launches "outrageous", and strongly condemned the action as a threat to peace and security of the region.
They came the same day that South Korea tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a system.
The two Koreas have been in an increasingly heated arms race, with both sides unveiling new and increasingly capable missiles and
other weapons.
The tests by nuclear-armed North Korea drew international condemnation and concern.
The United States saying it violated UN Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to Pyongyang's neighbours.
The North Korean test was conducted by a railway-borne missile regiment organised earlier this year, the KCNA report said.
"The railway-borne missile system serves as an efficient counter-strike means capable of dealing a harsh multi-concurrent
blow to the threat-posing forces," state official Pak Jong Chon said, according to KCNA.
"Rail mobile missiles are a relatively cheap and reliable option for countries seeking to improve the survivability of their nuclear forces," Adam Mount, a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said on Twitter.
"Russia did it. The US considered it. It makes a ton of sense for North Korea."
The latest launches came as the foreign ministers of South Korea and China held talks in Seoul amid concern over North Korea's tests and the stalled denuclearisation negotiations.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, when asked about the cruise missile tests, said all parties should work to promote peace and stability on the Korean peninsula.
North Korea's ballistic missile systems have been banned by UN Security Council resolutions.
In November 2017, North Korea tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the entire United States and declared it had become a nuclear power.
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