North Korea appears to have fired cruise missiles: Report

Cruise missile launches by the North are not banned under United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang.

North Korea fired what appeared to be two cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast earlier on Tuesday, Yonhap news reported citing military sources, days after a flurry of ballistic missile tests.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. (AP)

South Korea's military is assessing the launches to determine the nature of the projectiles, Yonhap news said. The office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not immediately have confirmation of the report.

Cruise missile launches by the North are not banned under United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, which has defied international condemnation and conducted four rounds of ballistic missile tests, the last on Jan. 17.