The missiles were detected between 11:13 a.m. (3:13 a.m. HB) and 12:05 p.m. (4:05 a.m. HB).
“Our military has increased surveillance and vigilance while cooperating closely with the United States and maintaining full readiness,” the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff added in a statement.
The missiles flew for a distance of regarding 500 km, reaching a maximum altitude of some 550 km, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.
“This threatens the peace and security of our country, this region and the international community, and this is absolutely unacceptable,” Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Toshiro Ino said.
The launch comes as Pyongyang announced on Friday that it had tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel engine”, which its state media KCNA described as an important test “for the development of a strategic weapons system of a new kind”.
Despite heavy international sanctions weighing on its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built up an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
All of its ICBMs, however, are liquid fueled. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un considers the development of solid-fuel engines to make more advanced missiles a strategic priority.
Kim Jong Un said in 2022 that he wanted North Korea to have the most powerful nuclear force in the world, and declared his country’s status as a nuclear state “irreversible”.
Among its goals unveiled in 2021 is the development of solid-fuel ICBMs that might be launched from land or from submarines.
The engine test announced on Friday was a step towards achieving this goal, but experts do not know at what stage North Korea is in developing such missiles.
The political orientations for 2023 of the isolated country must be exposed during December during a key meeting of the party. KCNA reported that according to Kim Jong Un, the year 2023 will be a “historic year”.
