ROK says DPRK fires 2 cruise missiles toward western waters

SEOUL -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) fired two cruise missiles toward the western waters, the Republic of Korea's defense ministry said Wednesday.

A defense ministry official, who declined to be identified, said over phone that the ROK military detected two cruise missiles that were launched at daybreak by the DPRK toward the western waters from the western coastal area.

The military authorities of the ROK and the United States were reportedly assessing the details of the missiles.

It was the second DPRK launch of cruise missiles this year since January. It is not in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, which ban the DPRK from firing ballistic missiles.

The missile test-firing came a day after the combined forces of the ROK and the United States kicked off their four-day preliminary drills ahead of the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, a newly-named summertime military exercise between the two allies involving field maneuvers.

The DPRK has denounced the exercise as a dress rehearsal for a northward invasion.