North Korea fires suspected cruise missiles off its east coast, Seoul says

1/8

North Korea has fired several suspected cruise missiles off its east coast, Seoul said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the projectiles – presumed to be cruise missiles – were fired from the North’s eastern Kangwon province on Tuesday morning.

The military is monitoring possible additional launches by North Korea, a statement added.

The missiles flew about 93 miles, officials said, and several military aircraft also appeared to have been involved in the drill.

North Korea leader Kim Jong-Un has continued the country's nuclear testing programme
AFP via Getty Images

North Korea has carried out a series of short-range missile and weapons tests in recent weeks.

Last month, it fired nine ballistic missiles in four rounds of tests, according to analysts.

On March 2, the country fired two unidentified projectiles from one of its coastal areas, South Korean military chiefs claimed.

Those launches came two days after North Korea’s state media said leader Kim Jong Un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in front-line and eastern areas.

During a key ruling party meeting in late December, Mr Kim expressed frustration over deadlocked diplomacy with the United States and said he would not denuclearise if the US persists with its hostile policy on his country.

He also said at the time he would unveil a new “strategic weapon” soon.

Nuclear diplomacy between North Korea and the US has largely stalled since the breakdown of Mr Kim’s second summit with Mr Trump in February 2019 in Vietnam.