Pyongyang

North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament has voted to abolish laws on economic cooperation with the South, state media said Thursday, as relations between the two neighbours hit new lows.

North Korea fired multiple cruise missiles Friday, Seoul's military said, continuing a fresh streak of weapons testing as Kim Jong Un's regime ramps up what it calls "war preparations".

The order comes after US and South Korean forces released footage from a joint exercise that simulated the removal of the North Korean leader.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Wednesday that the North's "irrational" regime was likely to carry out multiple provocations, including cyberattacks and drone intrusions, ahead of the South's April election.

North Korea initiated a fresh round of missile tests today, marking an expansion of its recent weapons trials, as reported by the military in Seoul. Analysts speculate that these weapons might be intended for use in Russia's conflict with Ukraine, according to AFP.

North Korea fired another round of cruise missiles on Tuesday, according to Seoul's military, extending a week-long flurry of tests that Pyongyang has said include a new generation of weapons.

South Korea's military "detected several unknown cruise missiles launched into the West Sea of North Korea around 07:00 (2200 GMT)", Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hailed the test launch of a new strategic cruise missile from a submarine as a key moment in building the nation's naval power, state media said Monday.

Pyongyang has accelerated weapons testing in the new year, including tests of what it called an "underwater nuclear weapon system" and a solid-fuelled hypersonic ballistic missile.

North Korea fired several cruise missiles on Sunday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a series of tension-raising moves by the nuclear-armed state.

The launch comes just days after Pyongyang fired multiple cruise missiles toward the Yellow Sea, which it said was a first test of a new generation of strategic cruise missiles.

China's vice foreign minister met with North Korea's top diplomats in Pyongyang on Friday, state media said, as the nuclear-armed state has accelerated its weapons testing and threats toward Seoul in recent months.

China's vice foreign minister was in Pyongyang on Friday for a meeting with his North Korean counterpart.

China and Russia are North Korea's traditional allies, and Washington warned last year that military ties between Pyongyang and Moscow were "growing and dangerous".

The United States has called on Beijing — the North's biggest economic benefactor — to restrain Pyongyang.