North Korea says it has fired two short-range tactical ballistic missiles to simulate nuclear strikes on military targets in South Korea.

State media said the tests had been conducted as a warning against the US deployment of strategic bombers to the region.

South Korea reported two missiles landing in the sea.

The launches coincide with annual joint military drills held by South Korea and the US.

Pyongyang has long denounced the drills as a war rehearsal.

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.

“The drill is aimed to send a clear message to the enemies,” the army added.

The launches come a day before South Korea and the US end 11 days of combined military drills.

The drills involved at least one US B-1B strategic bomber flying above the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korean media.

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.

The drill simulated repelling a sudden invasion, then launching a counter-attack to occupy “the whole territory of the southern half”, the report said.