SEOUL
North Korea has fired five short-range missiles into the East Sea, a day after the country said it had test-fired a new type of anti-ship cruise missile.
Jeon Ha-kyu, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson, said Sunday that the missiles were "presumed to be fired from its eastern border town of Wonsan in a northeastern direction for about 50 minutes from 4:20 p.m. in succession."
He explained that the projectiles flew around 125 miles (200 kilometers) before landing in the East Sea’s waters, and were the second firing this year after Friday's launch, according to national news agency Yonhap.
"North Korea kicked off drills of the same kind two weeks earlier than last year," Jeon said, adding that the South’s military would “remain vigilant against additional launches while strengthening its joint surveillance posture with the United States."
Yonhap also cited another military officer as saying that the projectiles were believed to be "the North's new type of tactical missile that it test-fired last year."
On Saturday, North Korean media announced that a “successfully developed” and “cutting-edge anti-ship rocket” had been test-fired under the supervision of leader Kim Jong-un.
Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency cited Kim as saying that the development of the missile – which appeared to resemble the Russian-designed Kh-35 -- once more affirmed the Workers' Party of Korea policy in favor of military equipment that was “intelligent on an ultramodern level.”
The tests come after South Korea and the U.S. began a joint naval exercise Thursday involving a nuclear-powered U.S. submarine.
North Korea has repeatedly blamed South Korean-U.S. military exercises for heightened tensions.
Last month, Washington rejected the North’s offer to suspend plans for a nuclear test in return for a halt to the drills – both the U.S. and South Korea insist that Pyongyang should not compare its much-maligned nuclear ambitions with their defensive exercises.
Nearly 30,000 American military personnel are stationed in the South, and large-scale exercise Key Resolve is expected to bring together tens of thousands of troops from both sides in March.
