North Korea tests two short-range ballistic missiles, South Korea says

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast Wednesday in Pyongyang’s second weapons test in less than a week, the South Korean military said.

The missiles, launched from the city of Wonsan, likely flew about 155 miles at a maximum height of 19 miles, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement, according to The Associated Press. 

The U.S. and South Korean militaries were gathering additional information, the Joint Chiefs said. {mosads}

“The North’s repeated missile launches are not helpful to efforts to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and we urge [North Korea] to stop this kind of behavior,” they added. 

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also told reporters that the incident was “no threat to Japanese national security,” according to the AP, which added that Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya said that the missiles did not reach the country’s exclusive economic zone. 

The news service noted that the North Korean weapons test would be a violation of  U.N. Security Council resolution. 

North Korea fired two additional missiles last week that South Korean officials said went traveled 370 miles and went 30 miles high. Pyongyang reportedly said that those tests were a warning to South Korea. 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was attending an Asian security meeting in Thailand, told reporters he was “very hopeful” that the countries would resume nuclear talks.