North Korea fired off two ballistic missiles from its west coast early Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said, with both appearing to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said both missiles appeared to fly on irregular trajectories, with the first hitting a maximum altitude of 50 kilometers and traveling 550 km, and the second hitting a 50-km altitude before splashing down after flying some 600 km.
Hamada said Tokyo had protested the move, the latest in a spate of launches that the Defense Ministry said “threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community.”