North Korea fires ‘two ballistic missiles’ in sixth launch this year

North Korea had fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, amid rising tension over a series of weapons tests

North Korea fired what appeared to be two ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said on Thursday – in what would be the sixth round of missile tests so far this year.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of what it presumed were two ballistic missiles at around 8 am local time from around Hamhung, on the east coast of North Korea.

The suspected missiles appeared to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Kyodo news agency reported, citing a Japanese government source.

North Korea said this month it will bolster its defences against the United States and consider resuming “all temporally-suspended activities”, an apparent reference to a self-imposed moratorium on tests of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles.

On Tuesday, North Korea had fired two cruise missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military said, amid rising tension over a recent series of weapons tests.

Earlier in the month North Korea tested tactical guided missiles, two “hypersonic missiles” capable of high speed and manoeuvring after lift-off, and a railway-borne missile system.

The isolated nation’s biggest flurry of missile launches since at least 2019 has prompted an expression of concern from the UN secretary general, and the Biden administration has applied new sanctions.

The series of missile tests has drawn condemnation from governments in the United States and Japan and sparked meetings of the United Nations Security Council, which has sanctioned North Korea for violating resolutions that ban ballistic missile tests.

US President Joe Biden’s administration sanctioned several North Korean and Russian individuals and entities this month on accusations they were helping North Korea’s weapons programmes, but China and Russia delayed a US bid to impose UN sanctions on five North Koreans.

On Wednesday, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Japan and Korea Mark Lambert said that Washington has “no reservations” about talking with North Korea and is willing to meet anywhere and talk about anything.

“We have to have a serious discussion about the denuclearisation of North Korea, and if North Korea is willing to do that, all sorts of promising things can happen,” he said during a webinar hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

North Korea has defended its missile tests as its sovereign right for self defence, and said the U.S. sanctions proved that even as Washington proposes talks, it maintains a “hostile” policy toward Pyongyang.

North Korea has not launched long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) or tested nuclear weapons since 2017, but began testing a slew of shorter-range missiles after denuclearisation talks stalled following a failed summit with the United States in 2019.

Cruise missile launches by the North are not banned under United Nations sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, which has defied international condemnation and conducted four rounds of ballistic missile tests, the most recent on January 17.

China and Russia have pushed the UN Security Council to remove a ban on Pyongyang’s exports of statues, seafood and textiles, and raise a refined petroleum imports cap.

North Korea has said it is open to talks, but only if the United States and others drop “hostile policies” such as sanctions and military drills.