The missiles were fired at 6.53am and 7.12am from a base near the city of Kaechon about 50 miles north of the capital Pyongyang, a according to the South Korean military. A South Korean army spokesman said: “Our military is monitoring the situation in the case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture. We call on North Korean to instantly stop such acts that heighten tensions.”
Seoul held an emergency National Security Council (NSC) meeting, presided over by Chung Eui-yong, chief of the presidential national security office, and reviewed the overall security conditions on the Korean Peninsula.
In Washington, a senior US government official said it is aware of the latest missile launches and is closely monitoring the situation in co-operation with its allies.
Officials said the the double launch came just hours after the North Korea’s first vice foreign minister Choe Son-hui announced Pyongyang was willing to resume denuclearisation talks with the US later this month and called on Washington to come up with new proposals.
Observers said today’s launches could be designed to strengthen Kim’s negotiating hand ahead fresh negotiations that have been stalled since February’s no-deal breakdown of a summit between Donald Trump and his North Korean countepart.
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