Anchor: In an apparent protest against the ongoing joint military exercise between South Korea and the United States, North Korea fired yet another set of short-range projectiles into the East Sea on Friday morning. The sixth such launch in less than a month prompted Seoul to urge Pyongyang to stop stoking military tensions.
Choi You Sun reports.

Report: North Korea fired two unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea early Friday.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said the two projectiles were fired at 8:01 a.m. and 8:16 a.m. from the North's eastern coastal county of Tongchon.

Both are presumed to be short-range missiles and traveled about 230 kilometers at an altitude of around 30 kilometers with a maximum speed of Mach six-point-one.

This comes just six days after Pyongyang fired similar projectiles, and marks the sixth set of launches conducted by the regime since July 25.

Including the launch of two of its version of the Russian Iskander missile, known as the KN-23 in May, the latest projectiles also account for the North's eighth round fired this year.

These series of missile and projectile launches are believed to be a show of force in protest of South Korea's ongoing joint military exercise with the United States, which North Korea has long protested as rehearsals for war.

Friday's firing came shortly after the North's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country lambasted the joint drills and said Pyongyang had no intention of resuming dialogue with Seoul.

After an emergency National Security Council meeting led by national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, South Korea's presidential office called on the North to stop such firings that could heighten military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Although North Korea is banned from test-firing ballistic missiles under United Nations Security Council resolutions, U.S. President Donald Trump has been downplaying its missile launches in an apparent attempt to maintain dialogue with Pyongyang.

A senior U.S. official classified the latest projectiles as missiles, adding the U.S. is aware of the situation and keeping close tabs in cooperation with its allies, South Korea and Japan.
Choi You Sun, KBS World Radio News.