Kim hails missiles

Kim Jong-Un labelled North Korea's latest missile tests "perfect", state media said yesterday, as he called for the isolated state to build up its nuclear arsenal.

Hours before the UN Security Council was set to meet to discuss Pyongyang's latest military provocation, the country's supreme leader hailed Monday's firing of three mid-range weapons.

Kim supervised a drill by artillery units "tasked to strike the bases of the US imperialist aggressor forces in the Pacific operational theatre in a contingency," Pyongyang's KCNA news agency said.

"The units' capability for fighting a real battle and the combat performance of the rockets were appreciated as perfect," it said.

"He stressed the need to continue making miraculous achievements in bolstering up the nuclear force one after another in this historic year," it added.

South Korea's defence ministry said the tests were of Rodong missiles with a range of 1,000 kilometres. It said they had been fired over the Sea of Japan (East Sea) without warning.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama yesterday warned North Korea it was deepening its international isolation following recent missile tests that were hailed by the reclusive state's leader as "perfect".

"North Korea needs to know that provocations will only invite more pressure and further deepen its isolation," Obama told reporters after talks with South Korean counterpart Park Geun-hye on the sidelines of a regional summit in Laos.

Park described the launches as a "reckless provocation (that) will lead North Korea down the path of self-destruction".

In spite of tough global sanctions, Pyongyang continues to ignore the international community's calls for a halt to its weapons programme.