South Korea Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed that North Korea has once again launched two projectiles off its east coast early Thursday, amid Pyongyang’s efforts to continue nuclear talks.
The projectile was launched from the Wonson area, a coastal town east of Pyongyang, and approximately has a flight distance of 430 kilometers or 267 miles before it landed in waters between North Korea and Japan.
The officials didn’t immediately release details about what type of projectiles North Korea fired and said it was still analyzing the launch.
The two unidentified projectiles were launched at 5:34 am Thursday local time (4:34 pm ET Wednesday) and 5:57 am local time (4:57 pm ET Wednesday), according to the South Korean military.
“Our military, in preparation for additional launches, is maintaining (its) readiness posture by monitoring related movements,” an official in the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
“The US and South Korea are in the process of analyzing the details in relation to the launches,” the official added.
If Seoul’s estimate is correct, however, it would appear to be a relatively short-range projectile.
Last week, North Korea threatened that they will delay nuclear talks with Washington and resume intercontinental ballistic missile launches and nuclear tests if US and South Korea will continue their planned joined military exercises.
But United States said they would like to resume working-level talks with Pyongyang as soon as possible.
Last month, U.S President Donald Trump met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea, where the two leaders agreed to restart talks.
