N.Korea fires two short-range projectiles: Seoul (Ld)

North Korea on Monday fired two unidentified short-range projectiles into the East Sea, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, the first such launches since it warned of "a new strategic weapon" earlier this year.

The projectiles were fired from areas near its eastern coastal city of Wonsan towards the northeast at 12.37 p.m., Yonhap News Agency quoted the JCS as saying. It added that both flew around 240 km, reaching a maximum altitude of around 35 km.

"North Korea is believed to be continuing its joint strike drill," the JCS said, citing the military drill that the North staged on February 28 under the supervision of its leader Kim Jong-un.

It was not immediately known if Kim inspected Monday's launches.

"South Korean and US intelligence authorities are analyzing additional features... Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," the JCS said.

It is the first such projectile fire by the communist country since November 28, 2019 when it launched two missiles from what was presumed to be a super-large multiple rocket launcher, the Yonhap News Agency said in the report.

Last year, the regime test-launched missiles 13 times amid the stalled denuclearization talks with the US.

The tested weapons include new types of short-range ballistic missiles and a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).

In its New Year's message, Pyongyang warned it would show off a "new strategic weapon" in the near future.

Experts said it may mean an advanced version of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or an SLBM.

Following Monday's launch, the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae convened an emergency meeting of security-related ministers.

They expressed "strong concern" about the strike drills, according to its officials.

The Monday firing also came days after the first anniversary of the second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi.

The two-day meeting collapsed without a deal on Feb. 28, 2019, and little progress has since been made in the denuclearization negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang.IANS