North Korea fires 2 apparent short-range ballistic missiles: S. Korea

North Korea fired eastward on Friday two projectiles presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles, the South Korean military said, Pyongyang's third launch in 10 days. North Korea had earlier criticized the United States for expanding sanctions on its nationals following the recent launches of what Pyongyang claimed were hypersonic missiles, threatening a "stronger and certain reaction." Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile that is assessed to have landed in waters near the country's eastern coast and outside Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan, adding Japan lodged a protest with North Korea through its embassy in Beijing. Photo shows the test-firing of a hypersonic missile conducted by North Korea's Academy of Defense Science on Jan. 11, 2022. (KCNA/Kyodo) Related coverage: U.S. sanctions North Koreans aiding weapons programs after missile tests North Korea conducts test-firing of hypersonic missile reaching 1,000 km North Korea conducts 2nd missile test in less than a week The South Korean military's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an inland area of North Pyongan Province in the North's northwest and traveled about 430 kilometers while reaching the altitude of about 36 km at one point. The Japanese government estimated the missile flew about 400 km and reached a maximum altitude of around 50 km. "It is obvious that the purpose of North Korea's frequent firing of missiles is to improve its missile technology," Kishi told reporters in Tokyo. "We will consider all options, including the possession of so-called enemy base strike capabilities, and will continue to work to drastically strengthen our defense ability," he said. The chief Cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, said the latest launch, along with repeated firings of ballistic missiles by the North, poses a "serious problem" to the international community. The top government spokesman said there were no immediate reports of damage caused by Friday's launch. The U.S. military's Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement it is "aware of the ballistic missile launch," adding the United States is "consulting closely with our allies and partners." The latest launch follows ones on Tuesday and on Jan. 5 that North Korea said were newly developed hypersonic missiles. After the earlier launches, the U.S. government imposed sanctions on five North Koreans based in Russia and China. On Friday, North Korea issued a statement saying beefing up national defense capabilities is the legitimate right of a sovereign state. "If the U.S. adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take stronger and certain reaction to it," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. North Korea is banned from firing ballistic missiles under U.N. Security Council resolutions.