North Korea fires two missiles into the Sea of Japan

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan within hours of each other on Sunday, eight days after sending several missiles into the same sea.

"Our armed forces detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan region of North Korea at approximately 3:00 PM (06:00 GMT) in the direction of the East Sea," also known as the Sea of Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in an initial statement. It traveled "approximately 450 km," they added.

"Our army detected an additional short-range ballistic missile, launched from the Wonsan region of North Korea, heading towards the East Sea at around 5:50 PM" (8:50 AM GMT), the same general staff said later, thus identifying the second projectile, which also traveled "more than 600 kilometers".

South Korea, the United States and Japan "closely exchanged information" about the first missile, the same source added.

The South Korean presidential office convened an emergency meeting after the first launch to consider the response and assess the impact of the launch on national security, the presidency said.

The South Korean government called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile launches, describing the latest action as a "grave act" that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Tokyo, for its part, expressed a "strong protest" to North Korea and declared it a threat to regional peace and security, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo, citing the government.

These two launches come as North Korea the day before swept aside a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemning the development of its nuclear program.

In a statement relayed Saturday by the official KCNA news agency, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs asserts that this text "concocted by the United States and the West has no effect" and is "illegal", given that the country is not a member of the IAEA.

- "Firepower attack exercise" -

A week earlier, Pyongyang had fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, in what it later described as a "firepower attack exercise."

These shots came the day after the conclusion of military exercises conducted in the region by Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, and statements by Pyongyang.

North Korea's nuclear power status, which it conducted its first nuclear test in 2006 and has since developed a wide range of ballistic missiles, has been enshrined in its constitution since 2023.

Under heavy UN sanctions, the country has not returned to the negotiating table on its nuclear program since the failure in 2019 of a second summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, on Thursday called those who demanded that her country abandon its nuclear arsenal "imbeciles".

In August, Donald Trump stated that North Korea possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while South Korea increased that number to between 80 and 120.