NORTH KOREA FIRES TWO BALLISTIC MISSILES OFF EASTERN COAST

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, according to South Korea's military. The first missile launched from the Wonsan area at around 3pm local time and flew approximately 440 to 450 kilometres, according to South Korean and Japanese assessments, with Japan's defence ministry estimating a maximum altitude of around 60km before it fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. A second missile followed roughly three hours later, with South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff saying it flew more than 600 kilometres; officials from South Korea and the United States were still analysing its exact specifications. Japan's government initially described the first launch as a "suspected ballistic missile", while South Korea's military first referred to it as an "unidentified projectile" before both countries confirmed it as a ballistic missile.

The launches came days after North Korea rejected a resolution from the International Atomic Energy Agency calling for an end to its nuclear activities, with a spokesperson for the country's Foreign Ministry saying the resolution had "no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state". South Korea, the United States and Japan said they had been tracking the launches from their initial stages. Japan lodged a "stern protest" with North Korea, with its government calling the launches a threat to regional peace and security, according to Kyodo news agency. South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting after the first launch and called on North Korea to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile activity, describing the launches as a "grave act" violating UN Security Council resolutions.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday he was "urging" US President Donald Trump to maintain dialogue with North Korea, adding that Seoul was working to facilitate talks between Pyongyang and Washington. Trump said in August that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un possessed "57 very powerful nuclear weapons" and stated he intended to meet Kim later this year, though he gave no further details. Lee said he could not say how likely a meeting was but that "we must make every possible effort to turn that possibility into reality".