South Korea’s military reported that North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into its East Sea
It marks the third round of missile launches since last week by North Korea, which appears to be protesting the US decision to send its submarine to South Korea.
The missiles were fired consecutively at around 23:55 local time on Monday and at midnight on Tuesday, from an area near Pyongyang, the North Korean capital.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the two missiles traveled about 400 kilometers before landing in waters off the east coast of the Korean peninsula.
South Korean and US intelligence agencies are currently analyzing the releases and there were no immediate reports of damage.
The Japanese Coast Guard has issued a warning to ships in the affected areas to be careful of falling debris from the missiles.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement condemned North Korea’s missile launches as a “grave provocation” that threatens regional peace and stability and said the South Korean and US militaries are working together to strengthen their monitoring of North Korean military activities.
Last week, the USS Kentucky became the first nuclear-armed US submarine to visit South Korea since the 1980s.
North Korea reacted to its arrival by testing ballistic and cruise missiles last week, indicating it could launch nuclear strikes against South Korea.
The Koreas are still technically at war as a peace treaty was never signed.
