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SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un guided a launch of its Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile on Tuesday in a drill to counter the joint military exercises by South Korean and U.S. militaries, the North’s official KCNA news agency said on Wednesday.

“The current ballistic rocket launching drill like a real war is the first step of the military operation of the KPA in the Pacific and a meaningful prelude to containing Guam,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

KPA stands for the Korean People’s Army, the North’s military.

North Korea threatened to fire four Hwasong-12 missiles into the sea near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam earlier this month after U.S. President Donald Trump said the North would face “fire and fury” if it threatened the United States.