North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, as its leader Kim Jong-un was holding summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches from an area in or around Sunan in Pyongyang between about 11:43 a.m. (0243 GMT) and 11:53 a.m.
The missiles flew some 650 km each before splashing into the waters, according to the JCS.
"While preparing for additional provocations from North Korea, our military is closely monitoring activities and signs from the country in close coordination with the US," the JCS said was quoted as saying. in the Russian Far East region of Amur.
Pyongyang's latest saber-rattling came just before Russian media reported that Kim had met Putin at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome space center in the Amur region ahead of their expected summit later in the day.
Kim departed for Russia at Putin's invitation Sunday amid concerns over a possible arms deal that could support Moscow's war in Ukraine. It marks the first meeting between the two leaders since their 2019 summit in Russia's far eastern city of Vladivostok.
The launches marked the first time the North has fired a ballistic missile while Kim is outside of the country, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.
Source: Kuwait News Agency