South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles traveled up to 250 km (155 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off the country’s east coast, South Korea’s military said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile launches were detected around 9:30 a.m. local time (00:30 GMT) on Tuesday morning and were believed to have originated from North Korea’s Jagang province, Yonhap news agency reported.
The missiles traveled up to 250 km (155 miles) before falling in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, South Korea’s military said.
The JCS said it was preparing for additional missile launches and that the South Korean military had stepped up surveillance of North Korean activities. It added that Seoul was closely exchanging information with its US and Japanese counterparts while “maintaining a posture of full alertness”.
“We strongly condemn the launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,” the JCS said, warning North Korea not to “misjudge” the situation and vowing to “respond overwhelmingly” to any further provocations.
Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok said the country would respond strongly to North Korea’s latest missile launch and condemned Pyongyang’s continued violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions banning such weapons tests.
Tuesday’s launches were the second so far this year after North Korea tested a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic missile on January 6. Pyongyang said the Jan. 6 test was a new hypersonic missile designed to hit distant targets in the Pacific.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has vowed to expand his arsenal of nuclear weapons to counter rival nations. At a policy conference at the end of the year, Kim also said he would implement the “toughest” policy against the US yet.
He also criticized Washington’s efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which North Korea sees as the development of a “nuclear military bloc for aggression” aimed at toppling its regime.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said he was aware of the missile launch.
He said Tokyo was taking all possible measures to respond through close cooperation with Washington and Seoul, including sharing real-time missile warning data.
