Anchor: North Korea launched a number of cruise missiles on Wednesday morning. The provocation comes in the wake of emboldened rhetoric by regime leader Kim Jong-un in recent weeks as he pursues a hardline stance against South Korea.
Tom McCarthy brings us the latest.

Report: North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea on Wednesday.

According to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS), the missiles were detected at around 7 a.m.

Intelligence authorities in South Korea and the United States began closely analyzing the details of the missiles, while the JCS said the allies are closely coordinating under reinforced surveillance and vigilance and monitoring further developments in the North.

The missiles, which followed a circular trajectory, are presumed to be the Hwasal-1 and Hwasal-2 strategic cruise missiles, which the regime claims are capable of loading the Hwasan-31 strategic nuclear warhead.

A test using either variant is presumed to be an attempt by Pyongyang to demonstrate its ability to target the entirety of the Korean Peninsula as well as U.S. Forces Japan with a nuclear attack.

Wednesday’s provocation marks the first detection of a North Korean cruise missile launch since last September, but comes only ten days after Pyongyang launched what it claimed was a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The North has taken a more aggressive posture toward the South, with regime leader Kim Jong-un saying in his speech at the Supreme People's Assembly earlier this month that unification with the South is no longer possible, and that the constitution should designate it the "principal enemy."

Tom McCarthy, KBS WORLD Radio News.