<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">North Korea says it has fired two short-range tactical ballistic missiles to simulate nuclear strikes on military targets in South Korea.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">State media said the tests had been conducted as a warning against the US deployment of strategic bombers to the region.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Korea reported two missiles landing in the sea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The launches coincide with annual joint military drills held by South Korea and the US.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pyongyang has long denounced the drills as a war rehearsal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The North's army said the missiles had been fired late on Wednesday in a "tactical nuclear strike drill simulating scorched earth strikes at major command centres and operational airfields" in South Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The drill is aimed to send a clear message to the enemies," the army added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The launches come a day before South Korea and the US end 11 days of combined military drills.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The drills involved at least one US B-1B strategic bomber flying above the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korean media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed a drill on Tuesday preparing his top commanders for all-out war with the South, according to state media.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The drill simulated repelling a sudden invasion, then launching a counter-attack to occupy "the whole territory of the southern half", the report said. BBC</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>