North Korea launched at least two unidentified projectiles towards the sea on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said, hours after the North offered to resume nuclear diplomacy with the United States.
The South Korean military said the two short-range missiles were launched from a test site in the city of Kaechon, about 80km (50 miles) from the capital, Pyongyang.
The projectiles flew some 330km before plunging into the sea, Seoul said, noting that the South Korean military together with US intelligence is trying to determine the exact type of the missiles. In the wake of the reported launch, Seoul called an emergency National Security Council meeting.
Washington has been monitoring the situation, a US source told Report Focus News, without giving any detail about the specifications or the range of the missiles.
The Japanese military said that no projectiles had reached Japan’s territory or its exclusive economic zone, adding that the reported launch did not result in any national security threat to the country.
The South Korean military, meanwhile, said “unidentified” projectiles were launched twice from a test site in South Pyongan towards the Sea of Japan.
Tuesday’s test, which has yet to be confirmed by the North Korean military, would be the eighth time Pyongyang has conducted a missile launch since the “DMZ summit” between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in June.
So far, North Korea has been firing short-range ballistic missiles. The tests have been repeatedly downplayed by Washington. After the seventh test in late August, Trump brushed off concerns about Pyongyang ramping up its missile activity, saying that Kim just “likes testing missiles.”
