North Korea fires two ballistic missiles as U.S.-South Korea training drills begin

NAMPO CITY, North Korea, March 1 (UPI) -- North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the ocean Sunday as the United States and South Korea began annual training drills comprising thousands of troops, South Korean officials said.

Both missiles were launched near Nampo City, 37 miles southwest of Pyongyang, flying 304 miles before landing in the Sea of Japan early Sunday evening, eastern time.

The launches come as joint training exercises between the United States and South Korea are underway and expected to last until late April.

"Key Resolve," which will include 10,000 South Korean troops and 8,600 U.S. troops, will end on March 13, and "Foal Eagle," which comprises 200,000 South Korean and 3,700 U.S. troops, ends on April 24.

United States Forces Korea have called the exercises "nonprovocative" but added that they were a vital component to the defense of South Korea. Pyongyang has long denounced the drills, with state-controlled Korean Central News Agency calling them a "smokescreen" for an "invasion of the North."

In January North Korea offered to halt its nuclear testing in exchange for an end to the drills, but the United States rejected the offer, prompting North Korean leader Kim Jung Un to oversee the test-firing of anti-ship missiles on Feb. 7.