North Korea has fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea near Japanese waters.
The test, reported by South Korea’s military early on Monday and later confirmed by Japan, is the fourth launch ordered by Kim Jong-un’s government in a week.
The last saw short-range ballistic missiles fired from train cars for the first time, landing 267 miles away in the sea on Friday.
Two previous launches earlier in January involved what state-controlled media called ‘hypersonic missiles’, which are harder to detect and can change course after launch.
Experts have described the recent flurry as unusual, as it does not follow any historically dates in the North Korean calendar or missile exercises by the US and South Korea.
South Korea’s president, Moon Jae-in broke off from meetings in the UAE to order the ‘utmost efforts to ensure stability’ by his officials at home.
US generals said the latest missiles did not threaten its allies but accused North Korea of trying to destabilise the region.
Japanese ministers said that, while the weapons landed outside their sovereign waters, the launch was an active threat to peace.
Kim Jong-un has defied a UN ban on North Korean ballistic and nuclear tests more and more frequently over the past year, after vowing to boost his country’s defences.
Some suspect he is seeking to stoke tensions with its neighbours in order to gain a better footing at diplomatic negotiations.
But he could also be playing into ‘domestic’ issues, according to Ankit Panda, an international security expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Mr Panda told the BBC: ‘At a time of economic difficulty, these launches allow him to convey that national defence priorities will not fall by the wayside.’
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