SEOUL, South Korea: North Korea fired several cruise missiles into waters off its west coast on Tuesday, said Seoul’s military, the latest in a string of weapons tests carried out by Pyongyang so far in 2024.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement said that South Korea’s military “detected several unknown cruise missiles launched into the West Sea of North Korea around 07:00 (2200 GMT)”.
South Korean and US intelligence agencies are “conducting a detailed analysis,” Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
“Our military is working closely with the US while strengthening surveillance and vigilance and closely monitoring North Korea’s activities,” the military added.
Unlike their ballistic counterparts, testing cruise missiles is not prohibited under current UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
Cruise missiles tend to be jet-powered and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, making them more difficult to detect and intercept.
Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated sharply in recent months, with both sides scrapping key agreements to de-escalate tensions, increase border security and conduct live-fire border exercises.
Pyongyang stepped up weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an “underwater nuclear weapons system” and a solid-fuel hypersonic ballistic missile.
