This picture taken on March 9, 2020 and released from North Korea�s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on March 10, 2020 shows a test of weapons in an undisclosed location in North Korea. (Photo by AFP)

North Korea has fired two projectiles appearing to be short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, South Korea�s military says.

A statement issued by the South Korea�s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday said the launch originated from North Pyongan province, which is just above the capital Pyongyang on the west coast of the Korean peninsula.

Japan�s coast guard also reported on Saturday that North Korea appeared to have fired a missile, which landed outside Japan�s exclusive economic zone waters.

There was no immediate confirmation from the North.

The development came less than a month after a previous missile launch in early March when North Korea launched two unidentified projectiles eastward into the sea from the Wonsan area on the country�s east coast.

Earlier on Saturday, North Korea�s official KCNA news outlet said the country�s leader Kim Jong Un guided an artillery fire competition between combined units of the North Korean army on Friday.

The new missile launch came over three months after Pyongyang declared an end to a moratorium on its missile tests.

At a party meeting in late December last year, North Korean leader declared that Pyongyang no longer considered itself bound by an agreement with the US because Washington was not upholding its end of the bargain.

The North Korean statement came after the US repeatedly refused to relieve any of the sanctions on the North.

The United Nations Security Council, the US, South Korea, and other bodies have slapped multiple sets of sanctions on Pyongyang over its weapons programs.

International efforts to de-escalate the rising tensions between Pyongyang and Washington resulted in three meetings between Kim and US President Donald Trump, but little tangible progress was made afterwards.

SOURCE: PRESS TV