Our military detected several unidentified cruise missiles fired near waters around North Korea’s Sinpo area at 8am (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.
This undated picture released from North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Aug 21, 2023 shows a strategic cruise missile being launched from a guard ship marine of the 2nd Surface Ship Squadron of the East Sea fleet, also known as the Sea of Japan, part of a Korean People’s naval unit, at an undisclosed location at sea off the coast.