SEOUL (Dispatches) - North Korea fired two cruise missiles from the west coast town of Onchon early on Wednesday, a South Korean military source said.
The source added the South Korean and the United States military authorities are analyzing details of the missiles’ flight, including the range.
The launches come a day after Seoul and Washington kicked four days of preliminary joint drills in preparation for the long-suspended live field training Ulchi Freedom Shield, which takes place from Aug. 22 to Sept. 1.
The two allies have scaled back combined military drills in recent years because of COVID-19 and to lower tensions with the North, which has accused the exercises of being a rehearsal for invasion.
Meanwhile, Pentagon on Tuesday said the U.S., South Korea and Japan participated in a ballistic missile defense exercise off Hawaii’s coast last week - the first such drills since 2017 as relations between Seoul and Tokyo hit their lowest in years.
While Pyongyang has not conducted a missile test for two months, it had battled against a COVID-19 outbreak for months before declaring victory over the virus last week. The North, however, has been observed preparing for a possible nuclear test, which would be its first since 2017.
In a separate news release made by the North on Thursday, the sister of its leader Kim Jong Un blamed propaganda leaflets from South Korea found near the border for causing the coronavirus outbreak and vowed a “deadly retaliation” against the South.
Pyongyang has frequently protested against joint military exercises involving Seoul and Washington, calling them rehearsals for invasion despite Washington’s mantra of diplomacy.
The latest development also comes as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has offered a wide-ranging aid package to North Korea on the condition of its denuclearization, a proposal highly unlikely to be considered by Pyongyang.
North Korea has test-fired a record number of missiles this year amid claims by officials in Seoul and Washington that Pyongyang appears to be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time since 2017.
North Korea conducted its sixth nuclear test in September 2017. However, during inconclusive negotiations later with the US, it dismantled a nuclear facility and has not conducted any other nuclear tests since then.
The United States has warned that it would push for additional sanctions if Pyongyang conducted a seventh nuclear test.
Last month, the North’s leader Kim Jong-un said his country was “ready to mobilize” its nuclear deterrent in any future military conflict with the United States and Seoul.