SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Thursday, its neighbors said, in a resumption of weapons tests to protest just-ended South Korean-U.S. live-fire drills that it viewed as an invasion rehearsal.
The launches are the first by North Korea since it failed to put its first spy satellite into orbit in late May.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from North Korea’s capital region and traveled about 780 kilometers (480 miles) before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It called the launches “a grave provocation” and said South Korea’s military will maintain a firm readiness in close coordination with the United States.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the missiles landed inside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. He called the launches a “violent action” that threatened international peace and safety.
The chief nuclear envoys from South Korea, Japan and the U.S. held a three-way telephone call and agreed to continue efforts to get North Korea to halt weapons activities and return to talks, according to Seoul’s Foreign Ministry.