Second weapons test in days as North Korea accelerates efforts to modernize its navy.

North Korean state media says the country’s leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the launch of two submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM), the second test of the weapon in days.

The newly developed Pulhwasal-3-31 missiles “flew into the skies over the East Sea… to hit the island target,” KCNA news agency reported on Monday, adding that Kim “directed” the launch.

Photos were shared of Kim at an undisclosed location, pointing at a rocket in the sky and laughing with military personnel. In other images, huge clouds of white smoke obscured the actual launch platform.

The South Korean military announced this on Sunday Several rockets were fired from waters near the North Korean port of Sinpo, where Pyongyang operates a shipyard that makes naval equipment including submarines. No further details were given.

The Pulhwasal-3-31 is a new generation of nuclear-capable cruise missiles Pyongyang tested for the first time last Wednesdayas it aims to improve the weapons capability of the country’s Navy.

Testing of jet-powered cruise missiles that fly at lower altitudes is not banned because of United Nations sanctions over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, which ban ballistic missile tests.

KCNA said the SLCMs were in the air for 7,421 seconds and 7,445 seconds – about two hours – but did not say how far they flew.

North Korea’s exact sea-based launch capabilities remain unclear, and previous tests have been conducted from older vessels, including a submerged platform, rather than an actual submarine.

According to KCNA, Kim expressed his “great satisfaction” with Sunday’s test, citing North Korea’s determination to build a “powerful naval force.”

The North Korean leader separately inspected “the construction of a nuclear submarine” and discussed issues related to the construction of other new warships, the report added, without giving details.

“They will focus on improving naval power in the Eastern Sea and testing weapon systems that can be mounted on submarines. The first attempt will be this strategic cruise missile,” Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP news agency.

“In the future, it will lead to the development of submarine-launched ballistic missiles and nuclear submarines, which will have a much greater impact than SLCMs,” he added.

Proven SLBM capability would take North Korea’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack.

Choi Il, a retired South Korean Navy submarine captain, said once a nuclear-tipped SLCM becomes operational, it will pose a “new threat” to South Korea.

“North Korea will be equipped with dual-pronged nuclear means of attack, with the mass destruction capability of an SLBM and the precision strike capability of an SLCM,” he said.

In recent months, North Korea has tested various weapons, including ballistic missile systems in development and an underwater drone.

Last September, Kim launched the country’s initiative first nuclear submarinewhich analysts said was likely designed to carry ballistic and cruise missiles and appeared to be a modification of an existing diesel submarine.

According to KCNA, the submarine marked the beginning of a new chapter for the North Korean Navy.