North Korea fired what appeared to be multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea’s military said.

North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said on Thursday.

In a statement, the military said the weapons were presumed to be short-range ballistic missiles.

The missiles were launched on Thursday from an area around the eastern port city of Monsanto, the military said, and flew up to 800 kilometers (497 miles) before splashing down in the sea.

South Korea is closely communicating with the United States and Japan to share information about the launch, it added.

Japan’s defense ministry said there was no impact on Japan from the North Korean missiles, according to Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

Is North Korea testing missiles for Russia to fire at Ukraine?

North Korea’s ballistic missile program is banned by United Nations Security Council resolutions.

But in recent years, the nuclear-armed nation has forged ahead in developing missiles of all ranges.

The launch may have been to test the performance and flight stability of missiles intended for export, South Korea’s Joint chiefs of Staff spokesperson Lee Sung-jun said at Thursday news briefing.

Experts have long warned that North Korea may be testing weapons for export to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine.

Ukraine and South Korea are among governments who have accused North Korea of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia in violation of UN sanctions.

A Reuters investigation from February found that North Korean-manufactured ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine are showing a “marked improvement” in accuracy.

Edited by: John Silk

DW News