North Korea launches two new projectiles from its east coast

Several televisions in a store in South Korea show the launch of missiles from North Korea on March 24. Lee Jin-man / AP

North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles from its eastern coast into the sea on Wednesday, the South Korean army reported, while the Japanese government indicated that it could be two ballistic missiles.

After a first and concise statement in which little details were provided, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) expanded the information stating that "North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles from South Hamgyong province this morning" and that Seoul and Washington they are "analyzing additional information."

For their part, the Japanese authorities said that the test took place around 7.09 (local time) and that the projectiles did not land in their territorial waters.

This is the regime's second weapons test in a week after testing two cruise missiles last Sunday at a time marked by North Korean pressure to resume the denuclearization dialogue as Washington conducts a review of its strategy to deal with North Korea.

The Japanese authorities believe that the arms test included two missiles and that they would have been short-range ballistic projectiles, according to an executive officer to local media before an emergency meeting of the Defense Ministry.

"We are analyzing all the available information and trying to confirm the maritime and air security in our territory," said the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, who also noted that the Executive "has prepared to take all possible measures in response to the situation".

The last time North Korea tested projectiles with a ballistic trajectory was on March 29 last year, when it conducted tests with the so-called KN-25 system, described by the North Korean regime as a "super large" multiple rocket launcher.

However, the size and range (they have a range of more than 300 kilometers) of the projectiles that this system fires, which could have been tested again today, causes them to be classified as short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) and not like a piece of artillery.

Based on a self-imposed moratorium to facilitate dialogue with the United States, North Korea has not tested ICBMs since November 2017 and its last nuclear test dates from September of that year.