North Korea fires several missiles into Sea of Japan

SEOUL: North Korea fired several missiles off its east coast on Wednesday (Nov 4), Seoul's military said, extending a burst of weapons testing as Pyongyang hardens its stance toward South Korea and the United States.

The nuclear-equipped North has carried out a flurry of weapons tests in recent days, which come during heightened tensions between Pyongyang and Seoul over a landmine explosion along their heavily fortified border.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said its military "detected several missiles launched from the Sondok area of North Korea towards the East Sea on the morning of Nov 4", referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

"South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis of the exact specifications of the detected North Korean missiles," it said.

The allies "closely monitored the missile launches from the preparation stage and detected and tracked the missiles immediately after launch".

Wednesday's launch also comes a day after North Korea said it test-fired strategic cruise missiles, following a separate test of cluster bomb warheads over the weekend.

The North recently trialled other weapons including including attack drones, a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.

A joint Seoul-UN investigation concluded that the North had planted the mines more than a year earlier, which wounded three South Korean soldiers.

The North has denied responsibility and vowed to further fortify its border areas and resume its loudspeaker campaign.

Separately on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's powerful sister warned that Pyongyang would mount a stronger response to Washington's "invariable hostile policy".

Kim Yo Jong also signalled little appetite for renewed dialogue with Washington.

"In the present reality when new records are being set in the implementation of the US hostile policy toward the DPRK, it is natural that new records should be created in our reflective counteraction," Kim Yo Jong was quoted as saying by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

US president Donald Trump has touted that relationship is "very good" with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and said recently that he "may" meet with Kim during his Asian tour this month and that it "would be exciting".