North Korea fired cruise missiles toward the western waters on Saturday following an earlier threat to use nuclear arms over the arrival of a US nuclear-capable submarine in South Korea.
South Korea detected several launches from around 4 a.m. and is working with the US to analyze the specifications of the missiles, its Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a text message.
The launches follow a warning from North Korean Defense Minister Kang Sun Nam earlier this week that the dispatch of the USS Kentucky puts Pyongyang within its rights to use a nuclear arm.
US Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh slammed North Korea for the threat, calling it "dangerous" and saying that the port call is a sign of long-standing cooperation with South Korea. Seoul has also denied the deployment is a demonstration of nuclear weapons to Pyongyang.
Washington is separately seeking the release of a US soldier who crossed into North Korea on foot on Tuesday. The two countries have no direct diplomatic ties.
