North Korea Fires 'Anti-Ship' Missiles In Latest Tests

North Korea has fired several suspected short-range anti-ship missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea's military.

The missiles were fired from the North Korean town of Wonsan and likely flew about 200km (about 125 miles) with an altitude of about 2km (1.2 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

They landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where US aircraft carriers participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier in the week.

Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida told Sky News:

"We can never tolerate these kind of provocative actions."

Mr Kishida said the missiles did not land in Japanese territory and did not have any immediate impact on security.

Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman of Seoul's military, said the latest launch would have intended to show off its "precision strike capabilities" on ships in response to the joint drills.

North Korea's weapons tests are meant to build a nuclear and missile programme that can stand up to what it sees as US and South Korean hostility, but they are also considered by outside analysts as ways to make its political demands clear to leaders in Washington and Seoul.

Kim Dong-yub, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies, said the projectiles were likely from a new cruise missile system North Korea displayed during the military parade on April 15.

Last week, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis labelled the country an "urgent military threat".

The launches are North Korea's fourth missile test since South Korean president Moon Jae In took office on 10 May, as the country continues to speed up its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.