North Korea fires 2 missiles in 3 hours amid tensions over US drills

North Korea launched two missiles off its ⁠eastern coast on Sunday, its ⁠second set of tests in roughly a ⁠week, days after Pyongyang accused the US of driving tensions on the Korean peninsula through a series of military drills.

Just three hours after launching a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) towards the East Sea, or Sea of Japan, on Sunday afternoon, North Korea ‌fired another short-range ballistic missile, according to South Korea’s defence ministry.

If the subsequent launch is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it will mark two consecutive ballistic missile tests by North Korea within a three-hour window.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the first test firing from the Wonsan area around 3pm, identifying the weapon as a ballistic missile. Japan’s defence ministry also said it appeared to be a ballistic missile.