According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, North Korea has launched “several cruise missiles” into the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula, Yonhap news agency reported on Saturday.
The launch occurred at a time when ties between the two Koreas are at their lowest point ever, according to Yonhap, who said that it happened at 4 am.
“South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing the launches,” Yonhap reported.
Three days have passed since North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the ocean off its opposite shore, aimed for Japan.
The latest in a string of weapons tests by Pyongyang, the recent missile launches occur as Seoul and Washington step up their defense cooperation in the face of escalating tensions with the North.
Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, has called for accelerating the development of weapons, especially tactical nukes. Diplomacy between Pyongyang and Seoul has stopped.
In retaliation, Seoul and Washington conducted combined military drills using cutting-edge stealth aircraft and vital US assets.
On Thursday, North Korea’s defense minister Kang Sun Nam said in a statement that the deployment of a nuclear-capable submarine to South Korea “may fall under the conditions of the use of nuclear weapons specified in the DPRK law on the nuclear force policy,” using an acronym for North Korea’s official name.
Saturday’s incident also comes as a US soldier is believed to be in Pyongyang’s custody after breaking away from a tour group visiting the Demilitarized Zone.
The United States has said it is “very concerned” about how Private Second Class Travis King would be treated, and that as of Thursday, Pyongyang had yet to respond to inquiries about the soldier.
King was due to return to the United States to face military discipline after serving jail time in South Korea for assault.
