North Korea fires several cruise missiles from west coast towards Yellow Sea

Pyongyang: North Korea has fired "several" cruise missiles from its west coast towards the Yellow Sea, according to South Korea, Al Jazeera reported.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were fired on Wednesday morning.

"Our military detected several cruise missiles launched by North Korea towards the Yellow Sea at around 7:00 am today [22:00 GMT on Tuesday]," the JCS said in a statement.

"The detailed specifications are being closely analysed by South Korean and US intelligence authorities," the statement added.

The capital, Pyongyang, which is under strict United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme, has continued to conduct weapons tests this year, including a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile and the test of a purportedly nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, as reported by Al Jazeera.

However, cruise missile tests are not banned under UN sanctions but the JCS said that it was monitoring further activities by North Korea.

Cruise missiles tend to be jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles, but analysts say they could pose a risk to South Korea and Japan because they are harder to detect by radar.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have increased in recent months as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to accelerate his weapons development and issue provocative threats of nuclear conflict with the US and its allies in the region, according to Al Jazeera.

Japan, South Korea and the US, meanwhile, have been expanding their combined military exercises, which Kim portrays as invasion rehearsals, and sharpening their deterrence strategies built around nuclear-capable US assets.

This comes after the South Korean Navy's special warfare unit was participating in training on the east coast near the border with North Korea.

The 10-day training, which ends today (Thursday), is designed to strengthen operational readiness, as per the JCS, following North Korea's recent military activities.

Moreover, Kim Jong Un has also abandoned any goal of unification with South Korea, which is now designated as a "primary enemy".

Kim might also have ordered to demolish the 30-meter-high Pyongyang monument that symbolised the goal of reconciliation with South Korea, as reported by Al Jazeera.