North Korea has launched two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off Japan's coast. According to the Republic of Korea's (ROK) military, the missiles were fired from an airfield near Pyongyang early Monday. Japan validated the test as well. North Korea has launched four missiles in the last two weeks.
The U. N. forbids North Korea from conducting missile and nuclear weapons tests and has imposed severe sanctions. However, the East Asian state repeatedly defies the prohibition, and leader Kim Jong-un has promised to strengthen his country's defences. It announced on Friday that it had launched short-range ballistic missiles from train carriages and that it had performed two tests of what it claimed were hypersonic missiles, which are more difficult to detect.
North Korea typically launches missiles to commemorate politically significant occasions in the nation or express its discontent with US-ROK military drills.
Negotiations with the United States, which wants North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, have stagnated since U.S. President Joe Biden took office. In reaction to some of the previous tests this month, Mr Biden's government placed its first penalties on North Korea last week.
