North Korea fires two ballistic missiles, marking fourth round in a week: South Korea

South Korea’s military in a statement said that North Korea fired two ballistic missiles in the wee hours today, marking the fourth round of such tests in a week. The statement said that it had detected two short-range missiles fired from the Sunan area in Pyongyang into the East Sea. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, the military is maintaining the utmost readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Japanese vice defense minister, Toshiro Ino called the missile launches one-sidedly and persistently escalating provocations. The launches come at a time when tensions are heightened as South Korea, Japan, and the US held their first joint anti-submarine drills in five years off the Korean Peninsula’s east coast.