North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its coast on Friday, the latest in a series of launches since the start of this month, the South Korean military has said.
Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it “detected the launches from the Tongchon area in Kangwon Province.” The Tongchon range is located some 60 km (37 miles) from the inter-Korean border. It appears to be closer to South Korean territory than any other launch site used by Pyongyang this year.
South Korean forces are “maintaining a full readiness posture in close cooperation with the United States”, the JCS said in a text message sent to the media, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The Japanese authorities later said the North Korean missiles fell into the Sea of Japan, outside Tokyo’s exclusive economic zone.
The test by Pyongyang comes on the final day of South Korea’s “Hoguk” amphibious naval exercises, which also involved an unspecified number of American troops. On Monday, Seoul and Washington are also set to kick off their joint “Vigilant Storm” drills, expected to involve more than 200 fighter jets.