Seoul - North Korea fired two projectiles,
which Japanese authorities said appeared to be ballistic
missiles, into the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan on
Thursday, according to the Japanese coast guard and South
Korea's military.
The two "unidentified projectiles" were fired Thursday
afternoon from South Phyongan Province, in the centre of the
country, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a
statement.
Japanese authorities said that they and landed outside
Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends 200
nautical miles (370 kilometres) from land.
"Objects that appeared to be ballistic missiles were
launched from North Korea," Japan's defence ministry said in a
statement. "They did not land within our territory."
The American air base at Misawa, 700 miles (1,127 km) north
of Tokyo, posted a "real world missile alert" and urged
personnel to seek shelter, before later issuing an "all clear."
The afternoon launch timing was a departure from this year's
string of tests, which usually took place around dawn.
It also occurred on the day that South Korean President Moon
Jae-in attended the funeral of his mother, who died on Tuesday.
In a message delivered via the border village of Panmunjom
late on Wednesday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had expressed
"deep condolences" and "consolation" over Moon's loss, Moon's
office said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an
unnamed military source who said that movements of transporter
erector launchers (TEL), used to fire missiles, had been
detected in North Korea.
South Korea's National Security Council held an emergency
meeting after the launch on Thursday, and expressed its concern
about what it called "short-range projectiles."
"Our military is maintaining a readiness posture while
tracking and monitoring related developments in preparation for
another launch," the JCS said in a statement after the launches
on Thursday.
Kim Dong-yup, a former navy officer who teaches at Seoul's
Kyungnam University, said the launches could be a so-called
"running test fire" of a recently developed multiple-rocket
system, with the aim of fine-tuning the system for full
production.
RISING TENSIONS
Relations between the two Koreas have cooled since a flurry
of personal meetings between Moon and Kim last year, and
denuclearisation negotiations between North Korea and the United
States appear stalled.
On Sunday, North Korea said there had been no progress in
North Korea-United States relations.
Kim has set an end-of-the-year deadline for denuclearisation
talks with Washington, and in the Sunday statement a senior
North Korean official said it would be a mistake for the United
States to ignore that deadline.
North Korea has tested several new missile designs this
year, including a new submarine-launched ballistic missile fired
from a platform in the sea on October 2.
It says the missiles are necessary to defend against new
warplanes and weapons acquired by South Korea, including the
advanced F-35 stealth fighter jet.
North Korea has also accused the United States and South
Korea of continuing hostile policies, including military drills.
On Monday, South Korea began its annual Hoguk military
exercises, which it says are for self defence.
North Korean state media, however, blasted the drill as
practice for invading the North, and said "South Korean military
warmongers are driving the situation into an extreme one."
American officials have played down recent tests, saying
they were short-range missiles.