People watch a TV at the Seoul Railway Station showing a file image of a North Korean missile launch shown during a news program, Jan. 20. AP-Yonhap

North Korea fired what appeared to be two cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, days after a flurry of ballistic missile tests.

South Korea's military is assessing the launches to determine the nature of the projectiles, it said.

Such a launch would be its fifth missile test of the year, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has vowed to bolster the country's military with cutting-edge technology at a time when talks with South Korea and the United States have stalled.

The isolated nation's largest series of missile launches since at least 2019 has prompted an expression of concern from the U.N. secretary general, and the Biden administration has applied new sanctions.

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 most recent being Jan. 17.

China and Russia have pushed the U.N. Security Council to remove a ban on Pyongyang's exports of statues, seafood and textiles, and raise a refined petroleum imports cap.

North Korea has said it is open to talks, but only if the United States and others drop "hostile policies" such as sanctions and military exercises. (Reuters)