North Korea fired several cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Saturday, the South Korean military said, just days after the end of joint U.S.-South Korea military drills.
The missile launches began at around 4 a.m., South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that "while strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States."
North Korea launched two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday as part of a tactical nuclear strike drill in response to the deployment of U.S. strategic bombers to the Korean Peninsula, according to the North's state media.
The U.S. B-1B bombers were deployed to the region for the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield joint military exercise with South Korea from Aug. 21 through the end of the month.
North Korea also made an unsuccessful second attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite last week, in violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution banning Pyongyang from conducting launches that employ ballistic missile technology.
The missile launches came as North Korea is set to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding on Sept. 9.
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