North Korea fires cruise missiles, says South Korean military

This would be North Korea's latest missile launch since it fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday.

 A Tomahawk cruise missile is fired from a submarine. (photo credit: PICRYL)
A Tomahawk cruise missile is fired from a submarine.
(photo credit: PICRYL)

North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward the sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula, the South Korean military said on Saturday.

This would be North Korea's latest missile launch since it fired two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, as Pyongyang and Washington step up displays of military force in a standoff over the isolated country's nuclear weapons and missile programs.

A number of cruise missiles launched since around 4 a.m. Saturday local time (1900 Friday GMT) were detected, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

On Wednesday, North Korea fired missiles hours after a US nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) surfaced for a rare visit to South Korea.

 A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).  (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)
A general view of fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea March 10, 2023 in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). (credit: KCNA VIA REUTERS)

North Korea warns US actions provoke use of nukes

North Korea also warned on Thursday that deployment of US aircraft carriers, bombers or missile submarines in South Korea could meet criteria for its use of nuclear weapons.