North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles into sea

North Korea test-fired two ballistic missiles Thursday morning, Pyongyang's second missile test in a week. South Korea's military said the two short-range missiles were fired 20 minutes apart from North Korea's east coast, traveling about 280 miles before landing in the sea. "This activity highlights the threat that North Korea's illicit weapons program poses to its neighbors and the international community," U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Capt. Mike Kafka said.

South Korea's defense minister and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also condemned the missile test and said they would coordinate with the Biden administration on a response.

"North Korea has a history of testing new U.S. administrations with missile launches and other provocations aimed at forcing the Americans back to the negotiating table," The Associate Press reports, adding that compared with Pyongyang's 2017 test-fires of nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missiles, "Thursday's launches were a measured provocation." North Korea hasn't fired any long-range nuclear or ballistic missiles since a 2018 summit between Kim Jong Un and former President Donald Trump, though it is believed to have expanded its nuclear program in that time.

President Biden and his advisers are still formulating their North Korea policy, and North Korea has so far rebuffed the Biden team's negotiation overtures.

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