North Korea launches two short-range ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea

North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea on Tuesday, a day after Washington and Seoul began joint military exercises in the region.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea, which has announced the detection of the launches a few minutes before 08:00 local time, has not provided further details.

"While strengthening its monitoring and surveillance in preparation against the possibility of additional launches, our Army maintains a posture of full readiness in close cooperation with the United States," the South Korean Armed Forces have indicated, according to the Yonhap agency.

Pyongyang launched two missiles from a submarine on Sunday in waters near the North Korean city of Sinpo, in the northeast of the country. The projectiles traveled a distance of 1,500 kilometers and have flown for 125 minutes until they hit the targets, located in the Sea of ​​Japan, "with precision", according to the KCNA agency.

This launch would be a response to the joint military exercises of South Korea and the United States, which will take place over eleven days, until March 23.

These are the longest maneuvers ever carried out by both countries. With these moves, the two countries seek to send a message to North Korea as it threatens to develop its nuclear program.

North Korea has criticized these maneuvers and has announced "important, practical" measures for the "offensive use" of deterrent war assets. South Korean media take it for granted that there will be North Korean military tests coinciding with the joint exercises with the United States.