North Korea confirmed it had test-fired two "new-type tactical guided missiles"

The two missiles successfully hit their targets in waters 600 kilometres off the coast and the new weapons system can carry a warhead weight of 2.5 tonnes, according to the report.

The rockets are thought to be the first ballistic missiles launched by N.Korea since Joe Biden took office, and prompted the US president to pledge a response if the rogue nuclear nation continues to escalate tensions.

The country is banned from testing ballistic missiles by UN resolutions, and has been slapped with tough international sanctions to deter it from continuing to develop rockets that could be equipped with nuclear warheads.

The two short-range missiles were launched from the North Korean town of Hamju in the early hours of Thursday and travelled some 450 kilometres, according to South Korea's military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The move prompted condemnation from Japan and calls from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for fresh negotiations over the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

It marks the second launch by North Korea in a week - Pyongyang had fired two cruise missiles off its west coast on Sunday.

That test came in the wake of joint military exercises by the armed forces of South Korea and the US. The nine-day command exercise, which did not include field training, ended on Thursday last week.

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