North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Off East Coast Toward Sea

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Sunday, according to South Korea's military.

The launches occurred about three hours apart from North Korea's eastern coastal Wonsan area. The first missile flew approximately 450 kilometers (280 miles), and the second traveled more than 600 kilometers (370 miles), both landing in the North's eastern waters. South Korea's presidential office urged North Korea to immediately halt ballistic missile launches, citing U.N. Security Council resolutions.

South Korea's military stated it maintains readiness to repel any provocations under its alliance with the United States. Japan's Defense Ministry detected a suspected North Korean missile but confirmed it did not land in its territorial waters. Tokyo lodged a stern protest. These launches follow a series of weapons demonstrations by North Korea. Days earlier, North Korea threatened to bolster its nuclear deterrent capabilities and respond to what it called U.S. hostilities.

Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state and rejected a UN resolution demanding it halt its nuclear activities. U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back a joint military exercise with South Korea last month in an apparent effort to revive diplomacy with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un. Kim's sister also criticized a recent U.S.-led multilateral maritime exercise in the region as a frantic military move by the Americans.