The Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said on Monday that North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles(SRBMs) toward the East Sea earlier in the day.

The JCS said the missiles were launched from Sukchon in South Pyongan Province between 7 a.m. and 7:11 a.m., flying 390 kilometers and 340 kilometers before striking the East Sea.

The JCS said the South’s military has raised its monitoring and vigilance levels and is maintaining full defense readiness while cooperating closely with the U.S.

The North almost simultaneously claimed that it fired two rockets from a supersize multiple rocket launcher toward the East Sea on Monday, which falls under the same classification as SRBMs as both have guidance systems and share similar trajectories.

The latest North Korean provocation comes only two days after the North fired a long-range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, with Pyongyang claiming on Sunday that what it fired the previous day was a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile.

It marks the third ballistic missile launch by the North this year and comes 50 days after the regime opened the new year with the test-firing of a short-range ballistic missile.

Claiming that the firing demonstrated the regime’s readiness against joint air exercises by the allies, the North made it clear that it was a response to the combined air drills staged by South Korea and the U.S. on Sunday involving a U.S. B-1B strategic bomber escorted by nine fighter jets.