Seoul, May 22
North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the East Sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after a "serious" accident occurred during Pyongyang's launch of a new warship.
The launches took place as North Korea said earlier in the day that parts of a new naval destroyer were "crushed" during its launch ceremony Wednesday, with the North's leader Kim Jong-un calling it a "criminal act" that could not be tolerated.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the North's missile launches at about 9 a.m. from the Sondok area in South Hamgyong Province, without providing further details, such as the number of missiles fired.
The military believes the missiles may have been fired from a maritime platform and are conducting a detailed analysis with US intelligence authorities.
In February last year, North Korea test-fired a new surface-to-sea missile, named Padasuri-6. Authorities are looking into the possibility that the latest launch may have involved a variant of the anti-ship missile.
The JCS said it is closely monitoring North Korean activities so that Pyongyang does not "misjudge" the current security situation, adding that it is maintaining the capabilities to "overwhelmingly" respond to any provocation.
North Korea has staged a series of military demonstrations this month, including the launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on May 8.