North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Thursday, the South Korean military said.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were fired from Pyongyang's Sunan area and flew about 350 kilometers before hitting the East Sea. That suggests the missiles could have been fired from KN-25 super-large multiple rocket launchers.
The South Korean military condemned the launches, which put the Seoul metropolitan area and key air bases within range, as a "provocative act" that threatens the Korean Peninsula and vowed a stern response to the North's provocations.
The firings also came after the North failed in an attempt to launch a second military spy satellite Monday as the space rocket carrying the satellite exploded during the first-stage flight shortly after liftoff.
The latest launches mark Pyongyang's first ballistic missile launch since May 17, when it test-fired tactical ballistic missiles equipped with what it called a new "autonomous" navigation system, considered to be short-range ballistic missiles.
