North Korea fires ‘two ballistic missiles’ on eve of Kamala Harris visit

North Korea has fired what appear to be two short-range ballistic missiles from the capital Pyongyang off its eastern coast, South Korea’s military said on Wednesday.

An earlier update by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) had referred to one “unidentified ballistic missile” fired toward the East Sea. This was later updated to say two projectiles had been launched.

The office of Japan’s prime minister Fumio Kushida also said that a projectile had been launched by North Korea and that it was a suspected ballistic missile.

Mr Kishida ordered officials to take precautionary measures and ensure the safety of aircraft and ships in response to the missile launch. “Dedicate maximum effort to gather and analyse information, and provide the public speedy and adequate information,” read the instructions issued by the prime minister’s office.

The firing of the missiles comes on the eve of US vice president Kamala Harris’s visit to Seoul on Thursday.

Ms Harris will be visiting the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea on Thursday, becoming the latest top US official to visit the peninsula.

These are likely to be the second and third ballistic missiles fired by Pyongyang off its east coast in less than four days, at a time when North Korea’s rival South Korea and the US are carrying out drills in the region.

Earlier this week, the US and South Korea began their first major joint drills off the Korean peninsula’s east coast in five years.

The drills, spanning over four days, are aimed at demonstrating the allies’ “powerful resolve to respond to North Korean provocations” and improve their ability to perform joint naval operations, the South Korean navy said in a statement.

Sunday’s missile launch saw a projectile fired from North Korea reach an altitude of 50km, Japan said. Tokyo added that the missile landed outside its exclusive economic zone.