North Korea reportedly launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Sunday morning, boosting tensions ahead of another round of talks Tuesday with Tokyo on the abduction issue.
According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, South Korean military officials said two missiles with a range of 500 km were fired from Wonsan, on North Korea's eastern coast, between 4:50 a.m. and 4:58 a.m.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry official told Kyodo News that the launch was part of routine military exercises and would have "no influence" on the abduction talks.