Seoul: N. Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles in a northeastern direction on Wednesday, Seoul's military said, Yonhap News Agency reported. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launches at about 6:50 a.m. (2150 Tuesday GMT), from the area north of Pyongyang, and the missiles flew about 400 km, no further details provided. " While closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under a firm combined defense posture between the South Korea and the US, we will maintain overwhelming capabilities and posture to respond to any provocation," the JCS was quoted as saying. The presidential office convened a meeting to discuss the launches and assess the security situation, while the the US Indo-Pacific Command was consulting closely with South Korea and Japan over the launches, calling on the North to refrain from further "unlawful" and "destabilizing" acts. On Friday, North Korea disclosed its uranium-based nuclear facility, a day after firing multiple short-range ballistic missile s toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The latest launch is suspected to have involved missiles similar to the North's Hwasong-11 family of missiles, previously launched in July, the report said. The North fired two ballistic missiles in a northeastern direction on July 1, including one that landed in the East Sea and another that flew 120 km before disappearing off the radar and possibly falling inland, according to the JCS. Source: Kuwait News Agency