Anchor: Just two days after testing an intercontinental ballistic missile with the potential to hit the U.S. mainland, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea. The North claimed that the two latest missiles were a part of its tactical nuclear attack means.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea between about 7:00 and 7:11 a.m. on Monday from Sukchon, South Pyongan Province, north of its capital.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the two missiles fell into the sea after traveling around 390 and 340 kilometers, distances that put a South Korean air base in the central city of Cheongju and U.S. air bases in Osan and Gunsan within reach.

The missile tests became the regime’s third military provocation this year, coming just two days after the North launched a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile toward the East Sea from Pyongyang's Sunan area at a lofted angle that demonstrated a range capable of reaching the U.S.

In a rare move, Pyongyang issued a report just about an hour after Monday's firings, with the state-run Korean Central News Agency saying that the regime's artillery unit test-fired two shots from a 600-millimeter multiple rocket launcher.

Calling the rocket launcher a means of tactical nuclear attack, the state media report claimed that just four rounds fired by the system could destroy an operational enemy airfield.

Pyongyang blamed Seoul and Washington for prompting its latest military response, which followed the allies' air drills on Sunday involving at least one U.S. B-1B bomber and South Korean F-35A stealth jets.

Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement on Monday threatening "corresponding" steps against the deployment of U.S. strategic assets should they be judged to pose a threat to national security.

She appeared to threaten additional missile launches in saying that the frequency of the North using the Pacific Ocean as a firing range would depend on actions taken by the U.S.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.