North Korea fired two missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday, marking its second round of weapons tests in about a week amid growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea’s Defence Ministry said Pyongyang launched a short-range ballistic missile towards the East Sea in the afternoon, followed by another similar missile nearly three hours later.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the first launch was detected from the Wonsan area at around 3pm local time. The weapon was identified as a ballistic missile, with Japan’s Defence Ministry also saying it appeared to be a ballistic missile.
The first projectile travelled about 450km and was believed by South Korea’s military to be part of the Hwasong-11 series. The second short-range missile, launched from Wonsan at around 5.50pm, travelled more than 600km, according to the South Korean military.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that the first projectile landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
South Korea said its intelligence authorities were closely monitoring the launches with their US counterparts and had shared information about the missile activity with Japan.
Seoul’s National Security Council condemned the launches, which came after another missile test on Sept 12, and called on Pyongyang to immediately halt its missile activities. It said the launches directly violated United Nations Security Council resolutions.
The US Pacific Command said it was aware of the latest launches and was consulting closely with allies and partners. Based on its current assessment, it said the launches did not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to its allies.
Japan also lodged a protest through diplomatic channels in Beijing. Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi was quoted by Nikkei as saying the latest series of actions threatened peace and security in Japan, the region and the wider international community.
The latest launches came after North Korea rejected a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog concerning its nuclear programme on Saturday.
Pyongyang has also criticised a US-led naval exercise involving South Korea and Japan, which took place near Guam from Aug 29 to Sept 10.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, blamed US-led military drills for what she described as worsening tensions on the Korean Peninsula and said North Korea would continue strengthening its nuclear arsenal.
