North Korea fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine just hours before the US and South Korea began their largest joint military exercises in five years. The tests, reported by state media came days after leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a series of weapons launches and ordered his soldiers to intensify efforts to repel its rivals’ “frantic war preparation moves”. Pyongyang views military exercises between the US and South Korea as rehearsals for invasion and argues its nuclear weapons and missile programmes are necessary for self-defence.