S.Korea says North fires around ten ballistic missiles

Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington's security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a "clumsy, deceptive farce."

Seoul's military detected "around ten ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea at around 1:20 p.m. (0420 GMT)," JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea's name for the body of water.

The missiles flew a distance of around 350 kilometres, they said, adding that South Korean and U.S. authorities are analysing their exact specifications.

The South Korean military is ready to "respond overwhelmingly to any provocation," JCS added.

Japan's defence ministry also confirmed North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles that reached a maximum altitude of about 80 kilometres and fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone near the Korean Peninsula's east coast.

Seoul's presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a "provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.

It also ordered relevant agencies to maintain heightened readiness, as the launch occurred during the joint U.S.-South Korea military drills.

The launches came hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said that U.S. President Donald Trump thinks a meeting with Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un would be "good."

Washington has for decades led efforts to dismantle North Korea's nuclear program, but summits, sanctions, and diplomatic pressure have had little impact.

The Trump administration has pushed in recent months to revive high-level talks with Pyongyang, eyeing a possible summit with Kim Jong Un this year, potentially during Trump's visit to Beijing set for late March.

Trump said during a trip to Asia in October that he was "100 percent" open to meeting with Kim Jong Un, a remark that went unanswered by the North.

After largely ignoring those overtures for months, Kim Jong Un recently said that the two nations could "get along" if Washington accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status.

AFP