North Korea fires cruise missiles into sea, South Korea says

AFP

North Korea fired multiple unidentified cruise missiles on Tuesday into the sea off its west coast, South Korea's military said, the third time Pyongyang has tested cruise missiles in less than a week.

The missiles were launched at around 7:00 am (2200 GMT on Monday), Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

South Korean and US intelligence authorities were closely monitoring the situation and analysing the details of the launch, it said.

The launch comes amid a rise in tension on the Korean peninsula and follows a barrage of cruise missiles fired by Pyongyang off its east coast on Sunday.

Sunday's launch was a test of the new submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM) dubbed "Pulhwasal-3-31" and leader Kim Jong Un supervised the test, North Korean state media KCNA reported on Monday.

Last week's missiles were also Pulhwasal-3-31, KCNA said, adding that they were "strategic", which typically refers to nuclear-capable weapons.

South Korea's JCS said last week it believes the firing of "Pulhwasal-3-31" was to test upgrades of existing missiles' capabilities.

More from International News

On Virgin Radio today

  • Non Stop Hits

    Midnight - 8:00am

    The UAE's #1 Hit Music Station with no interruptions

  • Adam Eddine

    8:00am - 11:00am

    Playing 10 hits in a row every hour, all weekend!

Trending on Virgin Radio

  • Pick the Hits

    We have money can't buy passes to premiere of Bad Boys: Ride Or Die and see Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in person at the event! Just Pick The Hits!

  • Bassem Youssef

    One of the most talked about comedians in the world takes over The Kris Fade Show. Watch the full interview here...

  • Middle East Hot 30

    Every weekend Kris Fade plays the biggest tracks in the Middle East. Check out this weeks chart...

  • Regional Artist Spotlight Podcast

    Hear Maz & James chatting to the featured artists every month with Flash Entertainment.