A senior US official told CNN that Kim Jong Un's North Korea has fired a ballistic missile. Photo / AP
A senior US official told CNN that Kim Jong Un's North Korea has fired a ballistic missile. Photo / AP
North Korea has fired what is believed to be two ballistic missiles, the latest escalation in tensions in the region.
Japan's defence ministry made the announcement, reporting an "unidentified projectile" was fired off the east coast of the Korean peninsula into the sea.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the US and South Korean militaries were analysing the launches and didn't immediately say whether they assessed the weapons as ballistic or how far they flew.
A senior US official told CNN that the missiles were ballistic, however, but said it was not yet known whether they were short, medium or long range.
UN Security Council resolutions ban North Korea from testing ballistic weapons.
The launches came a day after US and South Korean officials said the North fired short-range weapons presumed as cruise missiles into its western sea over the weekend.
Those weapons are permitted by the United Nations.
The North's weapons demonstrations come amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the United States. Talks faltered after the collapse of Kim Jong Un's second summit with former President Donald Trump in February 2019 where the Americans rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.
The North has so far ignored the Biden administration's efforts to reach out, saying it won't engage in meaningful talks with the US unless Washington abandons what Pyongyang sees as "hostile" policies, which clearly refers to the US-led sanctions and pressure over its nuclear programme.
Kim's powerful sister last week berated the United States over its combined military exercises with South Korea, describing the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to "refrain from causing a stink" if it wants to "sleep in peace" for the next four years.
Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong issued a warning to the US. Photo / AP
South Korea's Defense Ministry said the North's short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020. Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, "There's no new wrinkle in what they did," laughing as he walked away.
North Korea has a history of testing new US administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table.
Since Trump's first meeting with Kim in Singapore in 2018, the North has not conducted nuclear or long-range missile tests, although analysts believe they have pressed ahead with their programmes on both.
The North has continued with short- and medium range missile testing during its suspension of nuclear and long-range tests, expanding its ability to strike targets in South Korea and Japan, including US bases there.
While Kim has vowed to strengthen his nuclear weapons programme in recent political speeches, he also tried to give the new US administration an opening by saying that the fate of their relations depends on whether Washington discards what he calls hostile US policies.
During his visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sternly criticised North Korea's nuclear ambitions and human rights record and pressed China to use its "tremendous influence" to convince the North to denuclearise.
