According to the Ministry of Defense, the missiles North Korea recently fired into the Yellow and East Seas were short-range ground-to-ground and ground-to-surface missiles and were most likely to test their improved capabilities.

The ministry said it will monitor North Korea’s missile-related activities closely, assess the threat that they pose, and possibly publish it in its white papers. It refuted reports that the ministry had omitted information on the North’s missile threats to cover up the real risk that they pose.

The ministry explained that the so-called "white papers" usually declare the primary military threats coming from the North within a certain timeframe, and that the short-range missiles were not listed at the time.