North Korea has fired three short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, the latest launches in a year that has seen an unprecedented barrage of missile tests by Pyongyang.
The latest test comes five days after North Korea flew drones into South Korea’s airspace for the first time since 2017.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement it detected the three launches from an inland area south of Pyongyang, the North’s capital, on Saturday morning.
All three missiles were fired from the suburbs of the capital Pyongyang and reached an altitude of 100km (62 miles) and flew for an estimated 350km (217 miles).
“North Korea’s series of actions, including its repeated ballistic missile launches, threatens the peace and security of Japan, the region, and the international community. In addition, such ballistic tests violate relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions,” Japan’s defence ministry said in a statement.