Seoul: North Korea on Wednesday fired multiple cruise missiles into the sea, the South Korean military claimed.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said that Wednesday's missile launch occurred around 9 am (local time) in the eastern coastal city in the string of latest tests conducted by Pyongyang.

He added that the South Korean and the United States militaries are now analysing launched from North Korea's northeastern coast.

The two countries have been strengthening their combined military exercises and have been sharpening their nuclear deterrence strategies to cope with the North's evolving threats.

This comes as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been issuing belligerent statements towards Seoul including a declaration that North Korea will abandon its long-term objective of reconciliation with its war-divided rival and threatening to annihilate the South with nukes if provoked.

The latest launch is the sixth missile launch this year, including a test of the country's first solid-fuel intermediate-range missile on January 14.

(With AP inputs)