North Korea on Wednesday launched several cruise missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the South Korean and US militaries were analysing the launches, which were detected in waters northeast of the eastern coastal city of Wonsan.
The South Korean military did not immediately disclose the exact number of missiles launched or the distance they flew. It was also not immediately clear whether the missiles were fired from land or sea-based means. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement:
“Our military has increased surveillance and vigilance and is working closely with our US partners and is closely monitoring signs for further activity from North Korea.”
Military experts suggest North Korea is stepping up pressure on its rivals in an election year in South Korea and the US with the long-term goal of forcing Washington to accept the North’s idea of the North as a nuclear power and extract security and economic concessions from a position of strength.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has also said he would abandon the North’s long-term goal of reconciliation with its war-divided rival, and has threatened to destroy the South with nuclear weapons if provoked.
The South fears that Kim may launch a direct military provocation, possibly near the disputed western maritime border between the Koreas, which has been the site of deadly naval skirmishes in past years.
Cruise missiles, which are highly manoeuvrable in flight like small aircraft, are among a growing number of weapons being developed by North Korea to overcome missile defences. They supplement the vast number of ballistic missiles designed to be launched from land and sea.
The latest launches were North Korea’s sixth missile launches this year, including the January 14 test of its first medium-range solid-fueled missile, which demonstrated its efforts to perfect weapons aimed at distant US targets in the Pacific, including the Guam military centre.
Earlier this year, the North tested new cruise missiles designed to be launched from submarines, as well as long-range cruise missiles capable of reaching US military bases in Japan.The United States, South Korea and Japan are stepping up joint military exercises and honing nuclear deterrence strategies.
