North Korea fires several cruise missiles in latest move

North Korea fired several cruise missiles on Sunday, Seoul’s military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state.

The launch comes just days after Pyongyang fired multiple cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, which it said was a first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapon system” and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

“Our military detected several unidentified cruise missiles fired near waters around North Korea’s Sinpo area at 8:00 am (2300 GMT) today,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The JCS said the launch was under analysis by South Korean and US intelligence authorities, adding it was “closely monitoring North Korea’s additional movements and activities.”

Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the testing of cruise missiles is not banned under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang.

Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them harder to detect and intercept.

On Thursday, North Korea said it had carried out its first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles it is developing, the Pulhwasal-3-31 a day earlier.

The test was “a process of constant updating of the weapon system and a regular and obligatory activity,” the state news agency KCNA said. It did not specify how many missiles were fired.

“The test-fire had no impact on the security of neighboring countries and has nothing to do with the regional situation,” the agency said.