SEOUL, June 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in convened a national security council meeting on Thursday after the test-launch of cruise missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The meeting of the national security council under the presidential Blue House will be chaired by President Moon at 2 p.m. local time (0500 GMT), according to Moon's office.
It would mark the first plenary session that is chaired by the new president. Since Moon's inauguration on May 10, three standing committee meetings of the national security council had been chaired by head of the National Security Office of the Blue House.
Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon and National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Suh Hoon as well as senior presidential secretaries in charge of security, defense and foreign affairs will attend the meeting.
The meeting was called after the DPRK test-fired multiple projectiles believed to be ground-to-ship cruise missiles from the city of Wonsan in the country's east coast early Thursday.
The short-range missiles flew about 200 km into the DPRK's eastern waters. It was the fifth missile test-launch by the DPRK since Moon took office about a month ago.
The DPRK projectiles were not ballistic missiles. Under UN Security Council resolutions, Pyongyang is banned from testing any ballistic missile technology.
The test-firing by the DPRK came as the U.S. military dispatched nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to waters off the Korean Peninsula.
