SEOUL: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, the latest of several weapons tests as the South and the United States conduct their largest joint military drills in years.
The missiles were fired about 7:40 am (local time on Monday) from South Hwanghae province, near the country’s west coast, and flew about 620 kilometres, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
The South Korean military was on high alert and maintaining full readiness posture in close coordination with the United States, the JCS said in a statement.
Japanese chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said the missiles have not been confirmed to have flown into Japan’s territory or exclusive economic zones.
“We see there is a possibility that North Korea will step up further provocative actions, including missile launches and nuclear tests,” Matsuno said. “We will continue a close cooperation with the US and South Korea over North Korea’s military moves.”