North Korea says missile launches helped train for missions at any time

FILE PHOTO: A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Edgar Su

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korea's latest missile launches were a military drill designed to train crews to carry out their mission at any time and "annihilate the enemy" if necessary, the country's state media KCNA said on Wednesday.

North Korea fired the two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea's military said at the time, the latest of several weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years.