N Korea fires ballistic missiles towards sea off east coast

North Korea has fired two ballistic missile towards the sea off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, according to South Korean and Japanese officials, Al Jazeera reports.

South Korea’s Joint Chief of Staff said the missiles were fired from the northwestern Tongchang-ri area on Sunday morning. The missiles were fired about 50 minutes apart, but no further details were given.

The Japanese defence ministry also confirmed the launches.

It said the missiles flew to an altitude of 550 kilometers (342 miles) and covered a range of 250 kilometers (53 miles).

Japan’s Vice Defence Minister Toshiro Ino said the missiles seemed to have landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). He also ensured that, there had been no report of damage from the missiles.

The latest launches comes three days after Pyongyang said it tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor” engine, which experts said would allow quicker and more mobile launches of its ballistic missile arsenals.

The test of the new missile engine was overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and conducted at the Sohae Satellite Launching Ground in Tongchang-ri, which has been used to test missile technologies, including rocket engines and space launch vehicles, according to state media.

In recent months, Pyonyang has test-fired a barrage of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles including November's launch of its developmental, longest-range liquid-fuelled Hwasong-17 ICBM, which is designed to carry multiple warheads and has been dubbed the “monster missile”.

The exact status of North Korea’s nuclear attack capability remains in secrecy as all its intercontinental ballistic missile tests in recent years have been carried out at a steep angle to avoid neighbouring countries.

Some experts speculate North Korea already has functioning nuclear-tipped missiles that can hit the entire territory of the United States, given the number of years it has spent on its nuclear programme.

But others say the country is still years away from acquiring such weapons and has yet to publicly prove it has the technology to protect warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric re-entry.

The US and South Korea have expanded their regular military drills and pushed to further bolster their combined defence capability in the face of Pyongyang’s advancing nuclear programme.