The latest projectiles launched by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday appeared to be new short-range ballistic missiles, the Republic of Korea (ROK)'s government said on Friday.
The missiles flew 220 kilometers (km) and reached an altitude of 25 km, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) in Seoul said.
The projectiles were fired at 2:59 a.m. and 3:23 a.m. local time from Yonghung, South Hamgyong Province into the East Sea, the JCS said.
Trump still open to talks
A US official said US intelligence had detected at least one, and possibly multiple projectiles, that did not pose a threat to North America. US officials said initial information indicated the activity was similar to two other short-range missile tests by Pyongyang in the past eight days.
US President Donald Trump who has been hoping to revive denuclearization talks with the DPRK, played down the launches, saying they were short-range and "very standard" and would not affect his willingness to negotiate with Pyongyang.
US President Donald Trump waits as he welcomes Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga to the White House, July 31, 2019 in Washington, DC. (VCG Photo)
Asked at the White House before setting off for a campaign trip to Ohio if he thought Kim was testing him, Trump said the launches did not violate the DPRK leader's promises to him.
"I think it's very much under control, very much under control," he told reporters.
Asked if he could still negotiate with Kim, he replied, "Oh, sure, sure. Because these are short-range missiles. We never discussed that. We discussed nuclear. What we talked about is nuclear. Those are short-range missiles. Sure, and a lot of other countries test that kind of missile also."
Japan: No immediate impact
Japan's Ministry of Defense said on Friday no immediate impact was seen on the nation's security after the new DPRK launch.
UN calls for meaningful talks
Three UN Security Council members, Britain, France and Germany, condemned Pyongyang on Thursday over the spate of tests and called on the DPRK to engage in "meaningful" talks with the United States, saying international sanctions needed to be fully enforced until Pyongyang dismantled its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
They urged the DPRK to "take concrete steps towards its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization and to engage in meaningful negotiations with the US as agreed between President Trump and Kim Jong Un on 30 June."
Their statement came after a closed-door UN Security Council meeting to discuss the previous DPRK launches.
The DPRK fired two short-range ballistic missiles early on Wednesday, only days after it launched two similar missiles on July 25.