N Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles in resumption of testing

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired a pair of ballistic missiles on Sunday toward its eastern waters, its first weapons test in a month and coming two days after it claimed to have performed a key test needed to build a more mobile, powerful intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland.

South Korea’s military detected the launch of two North Korean ballistic missiles from its northwest Tongchangri area. The missiles flew across the country toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

It said the missiles were fired about 50 minutes apart but gave no further details, like precisely what type of weapons North Korea fired and how far they flew. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said South Korea’s military has bolstered its surveillance posture and maintains a readiness in close coordination with the United States.

Japanese officials said the two missiles fell in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and that no damage to ships or human injuries have been reported. Japanese Vice Defense Minister Toshiro Ino told reporters that both missiles flew a distance of 500 kilometers (310 miles) at a maximum altitude of 550 kilometers (340 miles). He criticized North Korea for threatening the safety of Japan, the region and the international community.

The Tongchangri area is home to North Korea’s Sohae Satellite Launching Ground, where the country in past years launched satellite-carrying long-range rockets in what the U.N. called a disguised test of ICBM technology.

North Korea said Friday it tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel motor” for a new strategic weapon in the Sohae facility the previous day, a development that experts say could allow it to possess a more mobile, harder-to-detect arsenal of...