North Korea fires short-range missiles into East Sea

ANKARA

Ahead of the birth anniversary of the country's founder, North Korea on Tuesday fired a barrage of short-range missiles, said the South Korean military.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the country's northern neighbor fired projectiles assumed to be anti-ship cruise missiles into the East Sea, Seoul-based Yonhap news reported. The projectiles flew over 93 miles before splashing into the water.

North Korea is commemorating the Day of the Sun on April 15, an important annual public holiday in the country marking the birth of founder Kim Il-sung.

"The projectiles, assumed to be surface-to-ship cruise missiles, were fired northeastward from areas near its eastern coastal town of Munchon at around 7 a.m. [2200GMT Monday], which lasted more than 40 minutes," the JCS said.

"The military is closely monitoring the situation for possible additional launches, while maintaining a readiness posture," it added.

Earlier on Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspected a pursuit assault plane group in the west of the country.

According to the Korea Central News Agency, Kim was briefed on the "readiness" for sorties of the fighters and the "performance of duties of airspace defense," also observing a group drill.