A White House official said Tuesday the Biden administration has not recognized North Korea as a nuclear power, after incoming President Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary characterized Pyongyang with the nuclear status.

The new premier of North Korea has been sworn in during a two-day parliamentary meeting in Pyongyang. State media on Friday broadcast footage of Pak Thae Song addressing parliament during the key session.

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Tuesday, Seoul's military said, in a provocation just days before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The latest missile test coincided with Takeshi Iwaya’s visit, the first by a Japanese foreign minister in seven years, to Seoul for talks on trilateral cooperation with the US. Mr Iwaya met his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae Yul on Monday. He condemned the North’s nuclear and missile development, and pledged to boost security ties with Seoul.