North Korea fires two ballistic missiles; blames US drills, UN meetings for 'escalation'

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Thursday, as it claimed its recent blitz of sanctions-busting tests were necessary countermeasures against joint military drills by the United States and South Korea.

As the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met to discuss Pyongyang's launch of an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan on Tuesday, North Korea blamed Washington for "escalating the military tensions on the Korean peninsula".

The recent launches — six in less than two weeks — were the "counteraction measures of the Korean People's Army on South Korea-US joint drills," Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Seoul, Tokyo and Washington have ramped up joint military drills in recent weeks, including large-scale naval manoeuvres and anti-submarine exercises.

The United States will redeploy the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan to waters east of South Korea for a second visit in less than a month, Seoul said on Wednesday.

North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official KCNA that this posed "a serious threat to the stability of the situation on the Korean peninsula".

Early on Thursday, South Korea's military said it had detected two short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Samsok area in Pyongyang towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

The first missile travelled 350km at a maximum altitude of around 80km, according to their analysis, with the second flying 800km at an altitude of 60km.

It appears to be the first time that North Korea has fired missiles from Samsok, an official from Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) told reporters.

He added that they look like a "different type of short-range ballistic missiles" from previous launches.

Tokyo also confirmed the launches, with defence minister Yasukazu Hamada telling reporters that it was important not to "overlook the significant improvement of [North Korea's] missile technology".

Pyongyang's Tuesday firing of what officials and analysts said was a Hwasong-12 — that travelled likely the longest horizontal distance of any North Korean test missile — prompted the United States to call for the emergency Security Council meeting.

At the meeting, North Korea's longtime ally and economic benefactor Beijing also blamed Washington for provoking the spate of launches by Kim Jong Un's regime.

Deputy Chinese ambassador to the UN Geng Shuang said North Korea's recent launches were "closely related" to military exercises in the region, conducted by the United States and its allies.

Geng accused the US of "poisoning the regional security environment".

ALSO READ: