North Korea Confirms It Test-Fired Ballistic Rockets

North Korea says it has test-fired ballistic rockets as part of a simulated pre-emptive attack on South Korea.

The tests were an apparent reference to the three ballistic missile launches that Seoul says North Korea conducted Tuesday.

Pyongyang's state media said Wednesday that the launches examined "the operational features of the detonating devices of nuclear warheads mounted on the ballistic rockets."

Analysts say North Korea likely fired missiles carrying warheads, designed to trigger a possible nuclear device, to see if those warheads detonate properly.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in March ordered the tests of a nuclear warhead explosion and ballistic missiles with such warheads.

Pyongyang said it conducted a similar test of a warhead-detonating device when it fired a submarine-launched missile in April