North Korea fired two short-range missiles off its east coast yesterday, South Korean officials said, a defiant response to annual military exercises between South Korea and the United States but one which drew a swift protest from Japan.
The firing came hours before the US-South Korean military exercises were scheduled to begin, drills which the secretive North denounces as a preparation for war.
The missiles hit the sea early yesterday morning after traveling for about 490 km (305 miles), according to South Korea’s defense ministry. Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said North Korea fired the missiles without designating any no-sail zones, which was regarded as a provocation. Pyongyang has escalated its rhetoric against the drills, with a spokesman for its army general staff saying Washington and Seoul “should be dealt with only by merciless strikes.”