North Korea fires short-range ballistic missiles into East Sea

North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Friday.

South Korean citizens watch news coverage of North Korea's ballistic missile launch at Seoul Station in central Seoul, on April 2. [YONHAP]

North Korea fired a number of short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced Friday afternoon.

The latest launch comes 25 days after North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on April 22.

According to the JCS, it detected what are believed to be short-range ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea from the North's eastern coastal city of Wonsan at 3:10 p.m. The missiles flew 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) and landed in the East Sea.

"Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in case of additional launches, and is closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles with U.S. and Japanese authorities," the JCS said.

The firing of missiles on Friday came after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that their recently unveiled weapons were made only for defense against South Korea in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency earlier in the day. The launch also comes a day after South Korea and the United States conducted joint aerial drills, mobilizing two South Korean F-35As and two U.S. F-22 Raptors over the central region of South Korea.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]