North Korea fires cruise missiles off east coast, Seoul reports
According to South Korea’s military, North Korea has launched multiple cruise missiles into waters off its eastern coast, marking another instance of missile testing by the nuclear-armed communist nation in recent months.
The launch, which occurred near the Sinpo port on Sunday, adds to a series of missile tests that have heightened tensions in the region. The specific number and type of missiles launched have not been clarified yet.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that on Wednesday, North Korea test-fired a new strategic cruise missile identified as Pulhwasal-3-31.
Confirming the latest launch, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) stated, “Our military has been closely coordinating with the United States to monitor additional signs of North Korea’s provocations.”
In recent months, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has displayed increasingly aggressive policy stances and rhetoric, dismantling several peace agreements and escalating military activities.
Pyongyang has asserted the testing of a new solid-fuel missile and underwater attack drones purportedly capable of carrying nuclear payloads since the beginning of January.
These actions follow a pattern of nearly monthly missile launches and weapons advancements, which blatantly defy UN sanctions.
Earlier this month, Kim Jong Un declared an end to the long-standing goal of reunification with South Korea, labeling the South as the “principal enemy.”
This has led to concerns that North Korea is preparing for war.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol told his cabinet this month that if the North carried out a provocation, the South “will retaliate multiple times stronger”, pointing to the South Korean military’s “overwhelming response capabilities”.
