North Korea fires unidentified projectiles off east coast: JCS

SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired unidentified projectiles off its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's military said, in an apparent show of force against the ongoing joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington.

The projectiles were fired twice early in the morning from areas near the South Hwanghae province, the Joint Chiefs of Staff said. Their exact type, flight range and maximum altitude were not immediately known.

"Our military is monitoring the situation in case of additional launches and maintaining a readiness posture," the JCS said.

It is the fourth such launch in less than two weeks. On Friday, North Korea fired two short-range projectiles into the East Sea, just two days after it launched two short-range ballistic missiles, according to the JCS. On July 25, Pyongyang also fired two rounds of a new type of ballistic missile, resuming its weapons testing after around 77 days.

The Tuesday firing came a day after South Korea and the United States began their combined military exercise.

Issuing a statement right after the firing, North Korea's foreign ministry said it could seek "a new road," other than engagement, calling the joint exercise a violation of a series of joint agreements they signed with the North.

Seoul and Washington began the "crisis management staff training" on Monday as a preliminary session in the runup to their summertime command post exercise, according to military sources.