The launch comes just days after South Korea and the United States launched annual joint military exercises.
Most analysts believe the missile tests reflect Pyongyang's need to flex its muscles Photo: RODONG SINMUN/EPA
North Korea has test-fired two short-range missiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the second in a series of launches that Seoul has denounced as a calculated provocation.
"Both missiles flew more than 500 kilometres (300 miles)," a South Korean defence ministry spokesman told AFP.
The range would suggest they were the same as the four Scud missiles the North fired in similar fashion on Thursday - just days after South Korea and the United States launched annual joint military exercises.
The Scuds are at the longer edge of the short-range spectrum, with an estimated reach of 300-800 kilometres (185-500 miles) - capable of striking any target in the South.
It is not unusual for North Korea to carry out such tests - especially to register its displeasure at the annual military drills - and they often go unreported by South Korea.
Washington had initially played down Thursday's firings, but later suggested they violated UN sanctions imposed on the North's missile programme.
UN Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korea "from launching any ballistic missile, and this includes any Scud missile", Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steven Warren said Friday.
The South's defence ministry had called last week's tests a "calculated, provocative act."
But they are unlikely to trigger a significant rise in military tensions, with observers suggesting they amount to little more than a display of North Korean frustration over the annual drills in the South.
Pyongyang routinely condemns the joint exercises, which began last week and run until mid-April, as provocative rehearsals for invasion.
Credit to The Telegraph
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