North Korea fires cruise missiles as allies stage drills

US and South Korean soldiers were gathering for a combined live-fire exercise (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

North Korea has launched cruise missiles towards the sea, South Korea’s military has said, three days after the North carried out what it called a simulated nuclear attack on the South to protest against its military drills with the US.

North Korea has stepped up its weapons-testing activities, saying they are in response to the ongoing South Korean/US military training that it sees as an invasion rehearsal.