North Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into the East Sea Tuesday, the latest in a series of weapons provocations that are apparently designed to demonstrate hostility to joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises that effectively kicked off the previous day.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff(JCS) said the projectiles were fired early Tuesday morning towards the East Sea from in or near South Hwanghae Province in the country’s southwest.

Military authorities in Seoul and Washington are conducting a thorough analysis of the projectiles’ physical and flight characteristics.

The JCS said the South Korean military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture.

In a statement following the projectile firings, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said it may seek a “new road” other than engagement, calling the joint exercise a “military hostility.”

Tuesday’s firing is the fourth set of projectile launches by Pyongyang in less than two weeks.

On Monday, Seoul and Washington began "crisis management staff training" as a run-up to their full summertime command post exercise activities.

[Photo : YONHAP News]