North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said military drills by the United States, Japan and South Korea justify North Korea's nuclear reinforcement, state media KCNA said on Tuesday.

SEOUL, South Korea — The United States flew a long-range bomber in a trilateral drill with South Korea and Japan on Sunday in response to North Korea’s recent test-firing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland, South Korea’s military said.

North Korea fires at least seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, Japan's defence minister says, shortly after Pyongyang condemns military drills by its rivals.