North Korea says it test-fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine early on Sunday morning.

The ruling Workers' Party's newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on Monday that the missiles were fired from a submarine in a bay in the eastern province of South Hamgyong.

This is the first time the North has announced the launch of strategic cruise missiles from a submarine. In February, it reported firing four strategic cruise missiles toward the Sea of Japan from a site in the northeast of the country.

Rodong Sinmun carried photos showing a partially submerged submarine and missiles rising into the sky.

The paper said the missiles hit the target by flying in an 8-shaped flight trajectory for 2 hours and 6 minutes over a distance of 1,500 kilometers.

It said the launch drill had verified the country's preparedness to mobilize the means of nuclear war deterrence in various spaces.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday morning that North Korea had conducted a missile launch from a submarine in waters near the eastern city of Sinpho the previous day.

The North's latest missile launches from a submarine, the first since May of last year, are viewed as an attempt to keep the United States and South Korea in check ahead of their joint military drills from Monday.

North Korea announced on Sunday that an enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party had adopted important practical steps for making more effective, powerful and offensive use of the country's war deterrent.