North Korea on Tuesday made it clear that the targets of its drills to test-fire missiles are the US mainland as well as US military bases abroad.

"The North Korean army has long put within the range of its precision strike the air force base on Guam where nuclear strategic bombers take off, the oversea aggressive bases where nuclear-powered submarines are launched, and other US logistic bases for aggression against North Korea, and even the US mainland," the Rodong Sinmun, a daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party, said in a commentary.

The commentary came out one day after the North fired four missiles 1,000 kilometers into the East Sea, with three of them landing in Japan's exclusive economic zone. The (North) Korean Central News Agency made a similar report on the same day, saying that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected the test-firing conducted by artillery units tasked with striking US bases in Japan.

The daily also criticized the ongoing South Korea-US joint military drill, Foal Eagle, which kicked off Wednesday for a two-month run.

"This goes to prove that the war maniacs' moves to ignite a nuclear war have reached a very dangerous phase," it said.

The US should squarely understand the North's war deterrence power that has been built for decades in order to put a definite end to the standoff between it and the North, it added. (Yonhap)