Military generals are warning that North Korea has fired several cruise missiles towards Japan, amid the isolated warmongering country's recent displays of major lethal hardware.

Initial reports indicate that multiple high-speed rockets were fired into the sea of Japan on Thursday, around 9am local time, though the exact number is unknown.

The cruise missiles are thought to have been launched from North Korea's eastern region of Sondok in South Hamgyong Province, with a joint South Korean and US military intelligence investigating the exact number and type of missiles sent by Kim Jong Un's regime.

Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff alerted the public to the missile barrage shortly after launch, reporting that they had received intelligence of the launch beforehand and were already on high alert.

Kim Jong Un's missile threat is now the fifth time the autocrat has fired cruise missiles hundreds of miles towards other countries this year.

The display of North Korea's military teeth comes at the same time as the country seeks to boost its military capability, partly through a deal with Russia's Vladimir Putin to put Kim Jong Un's troops on the frontline in Ukraine.

Just two weeks ago, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un oversaw previous missile launches off his country's east coast, sending projectiles 500 miles into the Sea of Japan with the aim of showing North Korea's military preparedness, as well as testing out some new hardware.

However, the cruise missile barrage follows a public humiliation for the North Korean dictator, following the failed launch of his new 5000-tonne warship. The vessel sank before it could even leave the dock, leaving Kim furious and on the warpath for 'criminal' elements in his authoritarian country trying to undermine him.

The dictator said it was “serious accident that could not have happened, could not be tolerated,” before naming officials on the chopping block for the catastrophe.