North Korea says it conducted the final ground test of a solid-fuel rocket engine for a long-range ballistic missile in its latest advancement toward having an arsenal that could viably threaten the continental United States.

South Korea and the United States will launch their annual large-scale military exercise this month to bolster readiness against North Korean threats, the allies said Thursday.

North Korea says it righted a capsized destroyer and moored it at a pier in the northeastern port of Chongjin as it continues to repair a new warship leader Kim Jong Un has described as a significant asset for his nuclear-armed military.

North Korea has fired various types of short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea, according to South Korea's military, which was analyzing whether the tests were linked to the North’s weapons exports to Russia amid the prolonged aggression in Ukraine.