North Korea fires missiles into the sea during US-South Korean exercises

The exercises by the allies have inflamed tensions with the isolationist state

South Korean Navy's Guided Missile Patrol Gun Boat fires a harpoon missile during a live firing exercise against a possible invasion by North Korean submarines near islands called Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan

North Korea’s military has fired seven missiles into the sea as US and South Korean forces perform military exercises off its coastline, the South Korean defence military has said.

Annual joint exercises by American and South Korean forces take place each year and tend to inflame tensions in the region.

The North Korean government says the war games are a rehearsal for invasion, while South Korea says they are defensive.

In a departure from previous shows of force, has been no report of the missile launches in North Korean media, according to BBC News.

“We see this as another show of force by the North related to the exercises,” the spokesman told the AFP news agency.

The weapons used were believed to be medium-range ballistic missiles.

Last month, ahead of the controversial exercises, North Korea flexed its military muscle near its southern sea border by performing live fire artillery drills.

That demonstration featured anti-ship rockets and artillery guns, and was overseen by the country’s leader Kim Jong-un, according to North Korean state media.

In January North Korea offered to suspend its nuclear tests if the United States called off the military exercises.

The US and South Korean exercises are bigger this year than they have ever been before, the Associated Press news agency reports.