North Korea fired two suspected cruise missiles on Tuesday in its fifth weapons test this year.
Pyongyang has been flexing its military muscles while ignoring US offers of talks, with the tests resulting in rising tensions and new sanctions against the state.
'North Korea fired two suspected cruise missiles,' South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Tuesday. The missiles were fired into the sea off its east coast.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not specify the missiles' range or trajectory, but said it was conducting an analysis together with U.S. authorities.
One military expert explained that while cruise missiles pose less of a threat than the quicker ballistic missiles, they can hit targets with a 'high precision'.
The last time North Korea tested this many weapons in a month was in 2019, after high-profile negotiations collapsed between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump.
North Korea fired two suspected cruise missiles on Tuesday, South Korea's military said said, its fifth weapons test this year. Pictured: People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea on January 25, 2022
This year Pyongyang has embarked on a fresh flurry of sanctions-busting tests, including hypersonic missiles, after Kim re-avowed his commitment to military modernisation at a key party speech in December.
Tuesday's launch follows tests of a tactical guided missile capable of high speed and maneuvering after lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system.
Washington imposed new sanctions in response, prompting Pyongyang to double down on weapons testing and hint last week that it could abandon a years-long self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and long-range tests.
Cruise missiles are not banned under current UN sanctions on North Korea, and Seoul does not always report such launches in real time, as it does for ballistic missile tests.
The last time North Korea is known to have tested a cruise missile was in September 2021.
A South Korean military official told the Yonhap news agency that 'should such a missile be launched southward, our detection and interception systems have no problem countering it'.
Kim Jonh Un (pictured January 19) has been flexing his military's muscles while ignoring US offers of talks, with the tests resulting in rising tensions and new sanctions against the state
This year Pyongyang has embarked on a fresh flurry of sanctions-busting tests, including hypersonic missiles (pictured), after Kim re-avowed his commitment to military modernisation at a key party speech in December
Pyongyang's latest test looks like an attempt to provoke the administration of US President Joe Biden, which has offered talks 'without preconditions' but no substantive high-level engagement in the last year.
'North Korea appears to be wanting to test Washington's reaction, while showing off its presence on the global stage,' Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, told AFP.
By firing a cruise missile, Pyongyang does not violate UN sanctions but can still try 'to attract the world's attention while thumbing its nose at the US'.
The string of launches in 2022 comes at a delicate time in the region, with Kim's sole major ally China set to host the Winter Olympics next month and South Korea gearing up for a presidential election in March.
Domestically, North Korea is preparing to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the birth of late leader Kim Jong Il in February, as well as the 110th birthday of founder Kim Il Sung in April.
China and Russia have recently called for removing a ban on Pyongyang's exports of statues, seafood and textiles, and raising a refined oil imports cap.
The last time North Korea tested this many weapons in a month was in 2019, after high-profile negotiations collapsed between leader Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump
Pyongyang has not tested inter-continental ballistic missiles or nukes since 2017, putting launches on hold as Kim embarked on a blitz of high-level diplomacy through three meetings with Trump.
But last week Pyongyang said it could examine restarting all temporarily-suspended activities.
The impoverished North, reeling economically from a self-imposed coronavirus blockade, has recently restarted cross-border trade with China.
And ally Beijing, along with Russia, last week blocked the UN Security Council from imposing fresh sanctions in response to the recent tests.
South Korea's Unification Minister Lee In-young, in charge of cross-border ties, urged the North to return to talks, not escalate further.
'While thoroughly preparing for additional tests, we'd like to emphasize again that dialog and cooperation is the only way to peace,' he told a meeting with foreign diplomats based in Seoul.
Tuesday's launch follows tests of a tactical guided missile capable of high speed and maneuvering after lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system. Pictured: People watch a news broadcast showing North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul on January 25, 2022
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno did not confirm the latest test but said Tokyo would work with neighbors to gather and analyze necessary information.
Lee Sang-min, a military expert at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses, said the recent missile volleys could be aimed at building geopolitical tensions and perhaps pushing the United States to come up with a new strategy toward Kim.
'Cruise missiles are slower than ballistic missiles and so are regarded as less of a threat, but they hit targets with high precision, something North Korea would continue to develop,' Lee said.
North Korea has said it is open to talks, but only if the United States and its allies drop 'hostile policy' measures such as sanctions and military drills.
Defector-turned-researcher Ahn Chan-il told AFP the tests could also be an attempt by Pyongyang to pressure China.
'The Beijing Olympics cannot be a festival of peace without peace on the Korean Peninsula,' he said. 'And peace on the Korean Peninsula depends on North Korea.'
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