North Korea fires 2 short-range ballistic missiles

ANKARA

A defiant North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) toward the East Sea on Monday, South Korea and Japan said.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference in Tokyo that repeated actions by Pyongyang "pose threats to peace and security" of this region.

Pyongyang's launch comes as a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier plans to hold joint drills in waters near the peninsula.

According to the Japanese Defense Ministry, "the missiles appear to have fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone," Japan's public broadcasting network NHK reported.

The missiles flew some 370 kilometers (230 miles) before splashing into the sea, South Korean Military's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, adding that it detected the launches from the Chunghwa county area in North Hwanghae Province between around 7:47 a.m. and 8 a.m (local time), Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

Pyongyang's latest launch took place days after South Korea and the United States kicked off the Ssangyong (double dragon) amphibious landing exercise last week.

The exercise is slated to end next Monday.

The term "Sea of Japan" is used by Japan, while South Korea prefers to call it the "East Sea." Both countries claim sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the sea that are referred to as Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan.