27 August, 2017
The North's provocation was immediately reported to President Moon Jae-in, added the JCS.
North Korea used a multiple-rocket launcher off its east coast on Saturday to fire three short-range missiles that could strike USA military bases deep in South Korea, officials in Seoul said.
A spokesman for US Pacific Command said none of the missiles, which it said were launched near Kittaeryong, had posed a threat to either North America or the US Pacific territory of Guam.
The U.S. military's Pacific Command said it had detected three short-range ballistic missiles, fired over a 20 minute period.
The command had said earlier that the first and third missiles, fired early on Saturday, had "failed in flight".
The first and third missiles failed in flight, while the second appears to have blown up nearly immediately, said U.S. Pacific Command in Hawaii, which monitors North Korean missiles. But that assessment was later retracted, and the amended view agreed with the South Korean military's evaluation of the distance the projectiles had traveled.
North Korea launched at least three projectiles into the East Sea on Saturday morning, resuming its provocative acts after a month despite Washington's diplomacy-first approach toward the belligerent regime.
North Korea has accelerated its missile testing programme.
Tensions had eased somewhat since a harsh exchange of words between Pyongyang and Washington after U.S. President Donald Trump had warned North Korean leader Kim Jong Un he would face "fire and fury" if he threatened the United States.
"They could be ballistic missiles but they could be rockets".
Thousands of USA and South Korean troops are now taking part in joint military drills, which are mainly largely computer-simulated exercises.
Pyongyang launched its second intercontinental ballistic missile at the end of July and claimed all the USA mainland was within its range.
This image, provided by Yonhap News TV, represents a North Korea missile launch.
Analysts said the photos were a sign from North Korea to the world, to show their solid fuel missile program is improving at a steady rate.
