North Korea Fires 2 Ballistic Missiles toward Sea of Japan

Seoul/Tokyo, Oct. 6 (Jiji Press)--North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from Pyongyang toward the Sea of Japan between around 6:01 a.m. Thursday (9:01 p.m. Wednesday GMT) and 6:23 a.m., according to the South Korean military.

The missiles are believed to have fallen into waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.

North Korea launched the missiles apparently in a backlash against Wednesday's redeployment in the Sea of Japan of a carrier strike group led by the USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, which participated in joint exercises with the South Korean military only in late September.

The first missile launched on Thursday flew some 350 kilometers with a maximum altitude of about 100 kilometers and the second one traveled around 800 kilometers with a maximum altitude of some 50 kilometers, according to the Japanese Defense Ministry. The second missile may have flown on an irregular trajectory, which makes it difficult for the missile to be intercepted.

There have been no reports of damage to aircraft and ships.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]