DPRK fires 2 unidentified projectiles toward east

SEOUL－The Democratic People's Republic of Korea fired two unidentified projectiles into its eastern waters on Monday, according to the Republic of Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, or JCS.

The JCS said in a statement that the projectiles were launched near the DPRK's east coastal town of Wonsan toward the East Sea at 12:37 pm local time.

The projectiles flew about 240 kilometers at an altitude of around 35 km. The intelligence authorities of the ROK and the United States are doing a precision analysis on the projectile launches, the JCS added.

It didn't say whether the weapons were ballistic or rocket artillery.

Meanwhile, Japan said it had not detected any projectile landing in its territory or its exclusive economic zone, and no sea vessels or aircraft had been damaged.

This was the DPRK's first launch of projectiles this year.

During the last test-firing on Nov 28, two projectiles were launched from the DPRK's South Hamgyong Province toward the eastern waters.

The launches also came two days after the DPRK's state media said top leader Kim Jong-un supervised an artillery drill aimed at testing the combat readiness of units in the front line and eastern areas.

Kim began the New Year vowing to bolster his nuclear deterrent in the face of "gangster-like" US sanctions and pressure, using a key ruling party meeting in late December to warn of "shocking" action over stalled nuclear negotiations with the Donald Trump administration.

The JCS said the ROK military maintained a defense posture while closely monitoring relevant situations in preparation for possibly additional launches.

Chung Eui-yong, the top national security adviser of ROK President Moon Jae-in, chaired an emergency video teleconference with the defense minister and the intelligence agency chief to review the overall security situation around the peninsula, including the DPRK's projectile launch earlier in the day.

The participants expressed regret over the DPRK's acts that escalated military tensions, urging Pyongyang to stop such acts, according to the presidential Blue House.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Monday at a regular news conference in Beijing: "As the current situation on the Korean Peninsula is at a critical period, China calls on all relevant parties to show flexibility to each other and remain commit ted to dialogue and consultation for resolving issues."

And China also called for positive efforts from relevant parties to promote the achievement of peninsula denuclearization and enduring peace of the peninsula as well as the whole region, Zhao said.

Xinhua, agencies and Mo Jingxi in Beijing contributed to this story.