Defense minister Lee Jong-sup said on Thursday that North Korea fired four cruise missiles the previous day and that the Kim Jong-un regime may launch its first military spy satellite next month.

The minister made the remarks during a parliamentary defense committee session.

Asked about the number of cruise missiles fired by the North on Wednesday, the minister said that the South Korean military believed it was four.

Lee said that the missiles were precisely detected, adding that, after an initial assessment, Seoul and Washington are in the process of a more thorough analysis.

He also stated that Seoul and Washington are analyzing the possibility that Pyongyang can load nuclear warheads on several of its tactical guided weapons systems.

Lee also assessed that the North has advanced significantly in terms of the ability to actually deploy its nuclear weapons.

In addition, the defense chief said that there is a possibility the North may launch its first military spy satellite next month, because the North has been accumulating technologies needed for a satellite launch through intercontinental ballistic missile tests.