North Korea fired several cruise missiles into the Yellow Sea on Saturday, amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula following the port visit of a nuclear-capable US submarine in more than 40 years and the inaugural session of the South Korea-US Nuclear Consultative Group earlier this week.

South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing the launches, which took place at about 4:00 a.m., to learn more about the type of missiles fired and other details, according to the JCS, Yonhap news agency reported.