South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it was still analyzing the type of missile that was launched. The Japanese Coast Guard said it believed two missiles had been launched, although Seoul only mentioned one device. Tokyo also said the missiles landed outside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a 200-mile-wide strip of water off its coast over which it exercises sovereignty.
The missile launch came a day after the US and South Korea held the inaugural meeting of the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), at which the two nations discussed ways to strengthen “extended deterrence” against a potential attack by the DPRK. The US and DPRK have nuclear weapons; South Korea does not.
The launch also comes a week after the DPRK test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it dubbed the Hwasong-18 and called a "core weapon system of the strategic force" of the country.
The socialist state has launched 12 ballistic missiles so far this year. Although it has faced international pressure to give up its missile and nuclear weapons programs, Pyongyang has said it needs the weapons to ensure its safety so long as US forces remain in South Korea and no permanent peace treaty between the three states exists.
The 1950-53 war, which killed more than 3 million Koreans, only ended in a ceasefire and the establishment of a demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas.