According to the South Korean military, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles early Wednesday morning.
The missiles were fired in less than an hour from Pyongyang’s Sunan area, according to Seoul authorities.
It comes only a day after US Vice President Joe Biden left the region after promising to strengthen deterrence measures against North Korea during his visit.
Since the beginning of the year, North Korea has conducted a series of missile tests.
On Wednesday, Japan verified at least two launches but said there could have been more.
The first missile went roughly 300 kilometers (186 miles) at a maximum altitude of around 550 kilometers, according to Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi, while the second flew around 750 kilometers at a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers.
Mr. Kishi slammed the launches, calling them “unacceptable” and threatening “Japan’s peace, stability, and security as well as that of the international community.”
South Korea’s National Security Council called the missile test a “grave provocation” in a meeting held after the launch, according to the presidential office.
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Mr. Biden returned to the United States on Tuesday evening after a five-day journey that included stops in South Korea and Japan.
North Korea appears preparing for another weapons test, according to US and South Korean sources, possibly during Biden’s visit.
Mr. Biden and his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk Yeol agreed to undertake larger military drills and deploy more US strategic assets if necessary to discourage North Korea’s increasing missile tests during their weekend visit to Seoul.
Mr. Biden has stated that the US is “prepared for anything North Korea does.”
