(3rd LD) N. Korea fires 2 medium-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: S. Korea military

▲ This undated file photo released by the Korean Central News Agency shows a North Korean missile launch. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(3rd LD) N Korea-missile

(3rd LD) N. Korea fires 2 medium-range ballistic missiles into East Sea: S. Korea military

(ATTN: RECASTS throughout with military's explanation; CHANGES headline)

SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired two medium-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, the South Korean military said, the latest in a series of launches that raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that it detected the launches from the Tongchang-ri area, North Pyongan Province, between 11:13 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. The missiles, fired at steep angles, flew some 500 kilometers, it added.

The intelligence authorities of the South and the United States are conducting an analysis for other details in a comprehensive consideration of the North's recent missile activities, the JCS said.

Tongchang-ri is home to a major rocket launch site. There, the North conducted an "important" test on a "high-thrust solid-fuel" motor on Thursday to develop "another new-type strategic weapon system," according to its official Korean Central News Agency.

The latest saber-rattling came a month after the North fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) thought to be capable of reaching the whole of the continental U.S.

The JCS denounced the launches as an act of "significant provocation" that undermines peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in the international community, and a "clear" breach of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

"We strongly condemned them and urge the North to immediately stop them," it said in a text message sent to reporters.

It added the South Korean military will maintain a solid readiness posture based on its capabilities to respond "overwhelmingly" to any North Korean provocations.

Sunday's launch followed the North's commemoration on the previous day of the 11th anniversary of the death of Kim Jong-il, the former leader and father of current leader Kim Jong-un.

The latest launch could be Pyongyang's reaction to last week's passage of a U.N. resolution calling for global efforts to improve human rights conditions in the North, some observers said.

On Friday, Japan's Cabinet also endorsed a key security document that embraced "counterstrike capability" that would pave the way for the country to launch a counterattack should it and its ally, the U.S., come under attack, possibly from the North.

This year, the North has fired more than 60 ballistic missiles, marking a single-year record.

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