SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea said Monday it test-fired two cruise missiles from a submarine off its east coast, the latest in the country’s series of weapons tests.

The test on Sunday came a day before the U.S. and South Korean militaries begin large-scale joint military drills that North Korea views as a rehearsal for invasion.

The official Korean Central News Agency said Monday that the missile launches were meant to confirm the reliability of the weapons system and gauge underwater-to-surface offensive operations of the country’s submarine units. The missile tests show the North’s resolve to respond with “overwhelming powerful forces” to “the U.S. imperialists and the South Korean puppet forces,” which the news agency said “are getting evermore undisguised in their anti-(North Korea) military maneuvers.”