North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, marking the seventh such missile test over a span of several weeks, according to U.S. and Japanese officials.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from Sondok in South Hamgyong province early Saturday morning local time. U.S. and South Korean officials called the objects “unidentified projectiles,” while the Japanese government referred to them as “ballistic missiles.”
The missiles were reportedly fired about 15 minutes apart.
Last week, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan right before the country promised to stop all communication with South Korea and called President Moon Jae-in an “impudent guy.”
North Korea has stated that its leader Kim Jong Un has supervised some of the recent missile tests, and some experts believe Pyongyang may even be firing solid-fuel missiles that can be easily utilized at a faster rate.
President Trump has played down concerns about North Korea’s missile tests, saying that he received a “really beautiful letter” from Kim in which the North Korean leader wrote a “small apology” about the short-range missile testing. Trump stated that Kim wants to meet with him in the “not too distant future” to restart negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.
The presidential office of South Korea is conducting a National Security Council meeting about the missile launch, the office said in a statement.
