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

Pyongyang expresses its discontent over the "concerning provocations" that the combined aerial maneuvers carried out last week between Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington represented. North Korea has announced a test with strategic cruise missiles,

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.

Russia signed a strategic partnership treaty with Iran on Friday that follows similar pacts with China and North Korea. All three countries are adversaries of the United States, and Russia has used its ties with them to help blunt the impact of Western sanctions and boost its war effort in Ukraine.

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.

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 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.