North Korea on Saturday fired 10 ballistic missiles into the sea, Reuters quoted South Korea’s military as saying.
This came amid the United States and South Korea conducting joint military drills in the region.
South Korea’s joint chief of staff said that the missiles were launched from an area near the North Korean capital Pyongyang at about 1.20 pm Seoul time towards the sea off the country’s eastern coast, Reuters reported.
The missiles flew a distance of about 350 km, AFP quoted the joint chiefs of staff as saying. Seoul added that South Korean and the US authorities were analysing the exact specifications of the projectiles, AFP reported.
The South Korean military said it was ready to “respond overwhelmingly to any provocation”.
The South Korean president’s office condemned the launches as a “provocation that violates” United Nations Security Council resolutions, the news agency reported. It also urged Pyongyang to immediately stop the act.
Japan also confirmed the missile launches.
Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the missiles landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone, with no reports of damage to aircraft or ships.
The Japanese prime minister’s office issued instructions in response to the missile launch. It urged the authorities to dedicate maximum effort to gathering and analysing information about the incident, and to provide the public with updates in a timely and appropriate manner.
It further asked officials to ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels and other assets.
In the past two decades, North Korea has test-fired a range of ballistic and cruise missiles in an attempt to develop ways to deliver nuclear weapons, which it is believed to have built.
Several United Nations Security Council sanctions have been imposed on Pyongyang since 2006.
The missiles launched on Saturday come as the annual US-South Korea military drills are taking place from March 9 to March 19, Bloomberg reported. North Korea has repeatedly described the drills as a “war rehearsal”.
The launches also came days after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met US President Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday and discussed ways to reopen dialogue with North Korea, Reuters reported.
The South Korean prime minister had told reporters that Trump was eager for any opportunity to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
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