South Korea’s military said on Sunday it detected the launch of several missiles near Sinpo, a city on North Korea’s east coast. It is not known what type of missiles they are, or exactly how many were launched. A new type of cruise missile, called Pulhwasal-3-31with some launches ending up in the sea west of the country.
Cruise missiles (so-called “cruise” missiles) proceed on their journey powered by an engine, like normal jets, and reach their target with a horizontal trajectory. They are distinguished from ballistic missiles, which are given strong vertical thrust to reach an extremely high altitude, often at the edge of the atmosphere, and then plummet onto their target at a speed that is often many times the speed of sound.
Tensions between the governments of North and South Korea, technically at war for more than 70 years, have increased recently: a week ago the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un defined South Korea as his country’s main adversary and had announced the abolition of North Korean state agencies that deal with communications and relations between North and South.
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