North Korea has launched two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

Tokyo
CNN
–

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles, which fell into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from North Korea’s Sinan region, and were launched early Wednesday morning local time. It added that after flying 550 km each, the missiles fell into the sea.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said: “The detailed specifications of these missiles are being analyzed by intelligence authorities in South Korea and the United States.” The Japanese Prime Minister’s Office also wrote on Twitter that at least one ballistic missile had been launched.

The launches come after a period of heightened tensions on the peninsula.

On Tuesday, a US Navy ballistic missile with nuclear capabilities Missile submarine Made a port call in South Korea. The South Korean Ministry of Defense announced the presence of the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine in the port city of Busan, South Korea.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and a senior official in her own right, said in a statement Monday that the deployment of a US ballistic missile submarine to the peninsula would damage the already fractured lines of communication between the two sides.

The submarine’s arrival comes after North Korea last week tested what it said was an advanced long-range missile and threatened to shoot down a US military surveillance plane engaged in what it called “enemy espionage” activities near its territory.

South Korea and the United States also held their inaugural meeting in Seoul on Tuesday of the Nuclear Advisory Group, a joint committee set up by the two countries’ leaders at a summit in Washington in April.