Although the Scud missile has a maximum range of 430 miles while the Rodong missile is capable of traveling up to 800 miles, North Korea reportedly tested the missile within a limited range.

"It examined the operational features of the detonating devices of nuclear warheads mounted on the ballistic rockets at the designated altitude over the target area", the news agency added.

The North Korean drill was conducted "under the simulated conditions of making preemptive strikes" on the regions of South Korea where THAAD is located, state-run KCNA said. They flew about 350 miles across the peninsula to land in the sea off the east coast, and South Korean military officials said they had the potential to hit even the southern-most parts of the country. It was the communist country's first show of force after Seoul and Washington picked the southern county of Seongju, 296 kilometers southeast of Seoul, as the site to deploy the USA -built anti-ballistic missile interceptor system.

The South took the step after Pyongyang tested its fourth nuclear device on January 6 and fired a long-range rocket on Feb 7. Tuesday's exercise was the latest in a series of missile tests by North Korea.

Drawn up based on the outcome of a survey of North Koreans who defected to South Korea from last October to now, the report details the North Korean regime's crimes against humanity, including illegal detainment in prison camps, secret executions, violations of the freedom of speech, torture and beatings.

Despite North Korea's boasts, there is considerable doubt about whether North Korea has mastered the next, hard steps: making nuclear warheads small enough to mount on a missile, and then being able to deliver it.

The Korean People's Army (KPA) said in a statement that the USA military forces in South Korea will be the first targets of any attack, followed by South Korean "puppet" troops.

North Korea had earlier threatened a "physical response" to the move.

The two Koreas remain technically at war since their 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.

The U.N. Security Council voted to impose significant punitive measures on the state at the time.

"In addition to the basic goal of enhancing missile units' readiness to fight, it might be a way of reminding their southern neighbors that the site chosen for a THAAD battery in South Korea is within reach", Joshua Pollack, editor of the USA -based Nonproliferation Review, told Reuters.