North Korea fires ballistic missiles, fourth time this week

SEOUL: North Korea fired two ballistic missiles early on Saturday, South Korea’s military said, the nuclear-armed country’s fourth launch this week as Seoul, Tokyo and Washington ramp up joint military drills to counter Pyongyang.

South Korea, Japan and the US staged anti-submarine drills Friday -- the first in five years -- just days after Washington and Seoul’s navies conducted large-scale exercises in waters off the peninsula.

With talks long stalled, Pyongyang has doubled down on its banned weapons programmes, conducting a record-breaking blitz of tests this year and revising its laws to declare itself an "irreversible" nuclear power.

South Korea’s military said it had "detected two short-range missiles between 0645 and 0703 fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang into the East Sea", referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. The missiles "flew approximately 350 km (217 miles) at an altitude of 30 km at speed of Mach 6", Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.