North Korea fires multiple missiles as US, South Korea plan largest drill

North Korea has fired cruise missiles off its east coast as the United States and South Korea plan to hold their largest joint military drills in the region in June.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that North Korea appears to have fired multiple cruise missiles off its east coast on Wednesday at around 10:15 am (0115 GMT) from its South Hamgyong province. 

The exact number and type of projectiles that were fired were not immediately clear, but Yonhap news agency reported that the fired missiles could be some of the North's long-range strategic cruise missiles.

North Korea said on Monday that it had simulated a nuclear attack on South Korea with a ballistic missile launch over the weekend.

It was North Korea’s fifth missile demonstration this month. Pyongyang said that it fired the country's largest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as a strong warning to the United States and South Korea.

The United States and South Korea are conducting an 11-day-long joint military exercise in the region which will conclude on Thursday.

Amid the escalated tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the US and South Korea plan to hold their largest-ever joint military drills in the region in June. 

South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the drills are in response to what it called North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats. 

In recent weeks, US and South Korean troops have carried out various types of drills including air and sea drills involving American B-1B bombers, and their first large-scale amphibious landing exercises in five years.

Pyongyang views American forces' presence in South Korea as a threat. It also sees the joint military drills as rehearsals for an invasion. 

North Korea’s leader recently called on his nation to be ready for a nuclear war.

Kim Jong-un warned that Seoul and Washington had expanded the scope of their joint military drills to include American nuclear assets in their exercises. 

He made the remarks as North Korean forces test-fired its ICBM equipped with a mock nuclear warhead and conducted a nuclear counterattack simulation.

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