North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised tests of short-range ballistic missile systems that simulated nuclear counterstrikes against U.S. and South Korean forces, state media said Friday, as the North continued to blame its rivals for escalating tensions through their joint military exercises.

North Korea launched a series of short-range ballistic missiles during a nuclear counterstrike drill overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, in what state media said was a response to recent nuclear exercises by the United States and South Korea.