North Korea fires cruise missiles into the sea after US-South Korean military drills end

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea says North Korea has test-fired several cruise missiles. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected the launches early Saturday morning off the North’s west coast. The launches come two days after the United States and South Korean militaries wrapped up their 11-day training exercises. North Korea calls the drills a rehearsal for invasion, though Washington and Seoul maintain their drills are defensive. On Wednesday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea in a launch that it said was meant to simulate “scorched earth” nuclear strikes on South Korea.