North Korea has fired two short-range missiles into the sea, South Korea's military has said.

The missiles flew about 267 miles (430km) and reached an altitude of 30 miles (50km) after being launched near the city of Wonsan on Thursday, according to an official from South Korea's defence ministry.

The first one is said to have been fired at 5.34am local time and the other launched 23 minutes later, with both falling into the Sea Of Japan.

A spokesman for Japan's defence ministry said the missiles did not reach its exclusive economic zone but warned that North Korea's actions were not helpful for easing military tensions.

Japan's defence minister Takeshi Iwaya told reporters that it was still analysing the type of missiles fired, adding: "If they were ballistic missiles, they violate the UN sanctions, and I find it extremely regrettable."


The White House is yet to respond to the incident.

The firing of ballistic missiles casts new doubts on efforts to restart denuclearisation talks after Mr Trump and Mr Kim met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) at the end of June.

Mr Trump's national security adviser John Bolton, who has taken a hardline approach towards North Korea, made no mention of the launches in a tweet on Thursday after he visited South Korea.

He said he had "productive meetings" with Seoul officials on regional security and building a stronger alliance.

Image: Kim Jong Un was pictured visiting a submarine factory this week

After Mr Trump and Mr Kim met in the DMZ, the US and North Korea vowed to hold a new round of working-level talks, but Pyongyang has since sharply criticised upcoming joint military drills by America and South Korean troops.

North Korea's foreign ministry said earlier this month that Washington had a pattern of "unilaterally reneging on its commitments" by holding military exercises with South Korea.

It had lead Pyongyang to reconsider its own commitments to discontinue tests of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the foreign ministry added.

North Korea's last weapons testing in May included short-range missiles as well as smaller rockets.

Image: Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un met at the demilitarised zone in June

At the time, Mr Kim oversaw the first flight of a previously untested weapon - a relatively small, fast missile that experts believe will be easier to hide, launch and manoeuvre in flight.

North Korea's last major missile test was in November 2017, with an intercontinental ballistic missile which showed it was close to being able to reach deep into the US mainland.

Meanwhile, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported on Tuesday that Mr Kim inspected a large, newly built submarine, accompanied by missile programme leaders.

It potentially signalled continued development of a submarine-launched ballistic missile programme.

Denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the US stalled after a second summit between the countries' two leaders in Vietnam in February broke down.

Mr Trump has repeatedly stressed his good relationship with Mr Kim and is keen for a big foreign policy win as he campaigns for re-election in 2020.