North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan early Wednesday, South Korean and Japanese officials said, in apparent retaliation to moves by the United States and South Korea to deter Pyongyang from using nuclear weapons.
Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters that the two projectiles apparently fell outside the country's exclusive economic zone, which extends some 370 kilometers from its coastline.
Each missile flew for up to 600 km with a peak altitude of some 50 km, Hamada said, adding that they may have traveled on an irregular trajectory.
The South Korean military said the North launched the missiles from near the Sunan area of Pyongyang between approximately 3:30 a.m. and 3:46 a.m.
The Japanese government has received no reports of damage to aircraft or ships following the launches, and it has lodged a protest with North Korea through a diplomatic channel, Hamada said.
Later Wednesday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Japan "strongly" condemns North Korea for violating U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban it from developing ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, adding that Pyongyang threatens "peace and stability in the international community."
The North's latest move comes after South Korea and the United States held their first so-called Nuclear Consultative Group meeting in Seoul on Tuesday, where they agreed to conduct joint military exercises and war simulations to deter Pyongyang from using nuclear weapons.
A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine capable of mounting ballistic missiles paid a rare visit to a South Korean port the same day.
Pyongyang test-launched a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile last week that marked a record flight time for a projectile launched by the nation.
On Monday, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by state-run media that the United States "should stop its foolish act," which could imperil its security, and urged Washington to cease its joint operations with Seoul.
Some pundits say the recent series of North Korean ballistic missile launches could be a military demonstration ahead of the 70th anniversary next week of the suspension of open hostilities in the Korean War, and that the country may continue to undertake such provocative action.
During the war, which began on June 25, 1950, and ended on July 27, 1953, United Nations forces led by the United States fought alongside South Korea against the North, supported by China and the Soviet Union.
