North Korea fires 'unidentified' missiles into Sea of Japan in latest act of aggression

Weapons test is first since President Trump promised to meet North Korean threats with 'fire and fury'

File photo distributed by the North Korean government in May 2017 shows a solid-fuel "Pukguksong-2" missile lifting off during a launch test at an undisclosed location (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

North Korea has fired “several unidentified” projectiles into the sea off its east coast, according to the South Korean military.

The South Korean Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the short range missiles landed to the east of North Korea’s Kangwon province in the Sea of Japan.

South Korea and the US are now the process of analysing what the projectiles were, and officials declined to say whether the launch included ballistic missiles.

“The military is keeping a tight surveillance over the North to cope with further provocations,” South Korean officials said.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the launch may have been a ballistic missile, but did not cite a source.

Saturday’s launch comes amid escalating tensions between the two countries and as the US and South Korea begin a large scale military exercise that aims to prepare for the consequences of an attack by the North.

The launch is the first by the North since it test-fired an intercontinental missile on July 28 that is thought could have reached parts of the US mainland.

That missile test prompted Donald Trump to say that if North Korea continued to pose a threat to the US, then the country would be met with “fire and fury the like of which the world has never seen”.

This in turn prompted Pyongyang to warn that it could fire four ballistic missiles at the US island of Guam, surrounding it with a “ring of fire”. The Pacific island is home to US military bases.

The latest missile launches come days after Mr Trump said he thought North Korean leader Kim Jong Un “is beginning to respect us”.

“Maybe, probably not, but maybe, something positive can come about,” the US President said.

Additional reporting by Reuters.