North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, along with his daughter, walks away from an intercontinental ballistic missile in a photo released on November 19, 2022. Photo: KCNA via REUTERS/File Photo

i24 News – North Korea fired “several cruise missiles” into the Yellow Sea between China and the Korean peninsula on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Defense Ministry.

The weekend launches are just the latest as Seoul and Washington increase their defense cooperation, as relations between North and South Korea continue to deteriorate.

The launch of the cruise missiles occurred around 4am local time on Saturday, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

“South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analyzing the launches while monitoring signs of additional activities,” the JCS said.

On Wednesday, North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the sea, off the Japanese coast. Unlike ballistic weapons, cruise missiles fly slower and lower, giving them better maneuverability and making them potentially very difficult to intercept by air and missile defenses.

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has been ramping up weapons development while diplomacy with Seoul has stalled. In response, South Korea and the United States have been holding joint military exercises, and this week a US nuclear-armed submarine arrived in South Korea for the first time in decades.

The latest provocation by the hermit nation comes amid growing concerns over the well-being of a US soldier who apparently defected into North Korea earlier in the week, with Pyongyang so far refusing to comment on the incident.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Washington remained “very concerned” about Army Private Travis King’s well-being.