North Korea fires yet more missiles

By Alex Jensen

SEOUL (AA) -- North Korea fired "multiple" unidentified projectiles into open water from its east coast early Wednesday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff -- just six days after the North fired a pair of short-range ballistic missiles from the same area.

Local news agency Yonhap reported both Seoul and its ally the United States are monitoring the situation as it was not clear whether this week's launches involved the same kind of projectiles as last Thursday.

Pyongyang is barred from testing ballistic missiles under a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The North earlier stated that last week's missiles were a "new tactical guided weapon" and were intended to be a warning to "South Korean warmongers" ahead of a military drill planned to take place with the United States next month.

However, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly played down the significance of North Korean short-range missile tests, stressing that Pyongyang has refrained from long-range launches throughout a denuclearization dialogue process that kicked off last year.

It remains unclear when or whether the U.S. and North Korea will resume working-level talks, despite Trump agreeing to do so with Chairman Kim Jong-un during their surprise meeting at the inter-Korean border last month.