SEOUL/TOKYO : North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast toward Japan, following joint missile exercises between the United States and South Korea and the return of a US aircraft carrier to the region in response to Pyongyang’s latest missile tests.

This is the sixth launch in 12 days and the first since North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan last Tuesday.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean military and the Japanese government confirmed the launch.

“This is the sixth time in this short period,” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

The launch came about an hour after North Korea denounced what the US told the United Nations Security Council about “the response measures taken by the Korean People’s Army to the joint exercises between the United States and South Korea.”

The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan and its battle group were abruptly redeployed after South Korea and the US conducted rare missile exercises east of North Korea. This comes in response to North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan this week.

A US State Department spokesman condemned the firing of the two missiles and said that Washington is committed to the diplomatic method, and called on North Korea to participate in the dialogue.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean army said the two missiles were launched from an area near the capital, Pyongyang.

The first missile flew at an altitude of about 100km and covered a distance of 350km, while the second missile flew at an estimated altitude of 50km and covered a distance of 800km, and it is likely that it took an irregular trajectory.

Recently, China and Russia vetoed a US resolution that demanded more sanctions against North Korea over its resumption of ballistic missile tests, which caused a split in the UNSC for the first time since the imposition of sanctions.