North Korea fires off two ballistic missiles

North Korea fired off a second missile on Sunday evening, hours after it launched an apparent short-range ballistic weapon, Japan’s Defense Ministry said.

The second missile was assessed to have landed some four minutes after it was detected, according to the ministry, and was believed to have splashed down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Earlier Sunday, the North fired off a single short-range missile from its east coast, the ministry said, with the weapon traveling about 440 kilometers northeast before falling into the Sea of Japan in waters outside Japan’s EEZ.

The South Korean military also said it had detected the launch of a second, unidentified projectile after earlier confirming that a single short-range missile had been fired, estimating it had traveled about 450 km.

Seoul said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities had tracked and shared details from the initial stage of the first launch, and shared information on the launch with Japan, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The North last fired off a ballistic missile on Sept. 12, when it launched “multiple” short-range weapons from its eastern coast, a day after Japan concluded trilateral military drills with the U.S. and South Korea.

Last month, Pyongyang fired off a barrage of around 10 short-range ballistic missiles, hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.

Trump has repeatedly expressed an interest in reengaging with Kim in his second term, after meeting with the North Korean leader three times during his first White House stint.

But North Korea has poured cold water on the idea of talks, saying the Trump administration has “fully reconfirmed its invariable hostile policy” toward Pyongyang.

Experts say Trump will face an uphill battle in any attempt at rekindling his relationship with Kim. The North Korean leader has said talks would only happen on his terms, which include recognizing his country as a nuclear power and ending Washington’s long-standing effort at denuclearizing the Asian nation.