North Korea has launched multiple cruise missiles towards the sea three days after the North carried out what it called a simulated nuclear attack on the South, its neighbour's military has said.
The launches are North Korea's fourth round of weapons tests since the US and South Korean militaries began large-scale military drills last week, which the North views as an invasion rehearsal.
The 11-day US/South Korean military drills are due to end on Thursday.
But North Korea is expected to continue its testing activities as the US reportedly plans to send an aircraft carrier in coming days for another round of joint drills with South Korea.
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff said it had detected "several" cruise missile launches made from the North's northeastern coastal town of Hamhung.
It said the missiles flew into the North's eastern waters and that South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing further details.
Coming off a record year in testing activity, the North has extended its run in weapons demonstrations in 2023, launching around 20 missiles in 10 separate events.
The weapons that were tested included short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missiles capable of striking South Korea, and intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to attack the mainland US.
Last month, North Korea launched what it called four long-range cruise missiles that demonstrated potential ranges to strike targets 2,000km (1,240 miles) away.
On Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test-firing of a short-range ballistic missile that was launched from what was possibly a silo dug into the ground.
North Korea's state media called the launch a simulated nuclear attack on unspecified South Korean targets.
Yesterday, North Korea boldly claimed more than 1.4million youths had joined the totalitarian dictatorship's army to take up arms against "heinous" enemies in Washington and Seoul.
The unlikely assertion came just days after the Hermit Kingdom ruled by despotic Kim Jong-un rolled out mass military registration points across the country.
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), students, farmers and factory workers had joined up and "pledged to mete out a merciless punishment to the enemies bringing the dark clouds of a nuclear war to hang over the land".
In addition to the 1.4million, "hundreds of thousands" of members of the Young Red Guards - a paramilitary unit made up of 14 to 16 year olds - have also pledged allegiance so they can "wipe out the group of heinous enemies".
KCNA also wildly claimed just two days ago that 800,000 civilians had signed up to join the army in a single day.
