SEOUL, July 31 (AP): South Korea's military said North Korea conducted its second weapons test in less than a week Wednesday, firing two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast in a move observers said could be aimed at boosting pressure on the United States as the rivals struggle to set up fresh nuclear talks.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were launched from Wonsan, a city the North pushes as a vacation destination but that it also uses as a regular launch site.
It said both missiles were believed to have flown about 250 kilometres (155 miles) at a maximum altitude of 30 kilometres (19 miles), and that the South Korean and US militaries were trying to gather more details.
The test, which would be yet another North Korean violation of UN Security Council resolutions, comes as the country's negotiations with the US over its nuclear weapons program are at a stalemate and as Pyongyang has expressed anger over planned US-South Korean military drills.
"The North's repeated missile launches are not helpful to efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and we urge (North Korea) to stop this kind of behavior," the South Korean statement said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters that the launches were "no threat to Japanese national security."
Last Thursday, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles that Seoul officials said flew 600 kilometres (370 miles) and as high as 50 kilometres (30 miles) before landing in the sea.
North Korea's state media said those tests were supervised by leader Kim Jong Un and were designed to deliver a "solemn warning" to South Korea over its purchase of high-tech US-made fighter jets and the planned military drills, which Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal.
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