North Korea fired a short-range missile into the Sea of Japan on Sunday , according to South Korea 's semiofficial news agency Yonhap , citing a South Korean military official . On Saturday , North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea , also known as the East Sea , off the Korean Peninsula 's east coast , Yonhap reported . The missiles on Saturday were fired in a northeasterly direction , away from South Korean waters , the ministry said . South Korea has beefed up monitoring on North Korea and is maintaining a high level of readiness to deal with any risky developments , the ministry added , according to Yonhap . According to the Arms Control Association , a U.S.-based organization , short-range guided missiles are generally classified as those traveling less than 1,000 kilometers ( about 620 miles ) . Tensions in the region have eased since a period last month that included near daily North Korean threats of war . Opinion : What North Korea could learn from Myanmar . U.S. and South Korean officials feared at that time that Kim Jong Un 's regime was planning to carry out a test launch of longer-range ballistic missiles , believed to be Musudans . The South Korean government says they have a maximum range of 3,500 kilometers ( 2,175 miles ) . Andrew Salmon , a journalist and author based in the South Korean capital , Seoul , said North Korea 's reported launch of short-range missiles Saturday should not cause the same degree of concern as the launch of a satellite or medium-range Musudan rocket . `` It 's a short-range tactical weapon . If any other country launched this kind of weapon , it 's a routine test , nobody would be too worried . It 's really simply because it 's North Korea doing this that it raises concerns , '' he said . The situation is much less tense in the region than it was last month , Salmon said . `` The North Koreans have significantly de-escalated their bellicosity and their rhetoric since the end of April , '' he said . `` The South Korean government , I suspect , will not be strongly condemnatory of this test because right now they are very , very keen to get the North Koreans to the negotiating table . '' Orphaned and homeless : Surviving the streets of North Korea . The recent tensions flared after the North 's long-range rocket launch in December and underground nuclear test in February , both of which were widely condemned . Pyongyang 's fiery rhetoric intensified in March as the U.N. Security Council voted to tighten sanctions on the regime following the nuclear test . Annual U.S.-South Korean military drills in South Korea also fueled the North 's anger , especially when the United States carried out displays of strength that included nuclear-capable B2 stealth bombers . North Korea is demanding recognition as a nuclear power , something the United States refuses to accept . Last month 's crisis resulted in the closure of the Kaesong Industrial Complex , the last major symbol of inter-Korean cooperation . How a North Korean camp escapee changed human rights .
North Korea fired its fourth short-range missile in two days , South Korea tells news agency . Missiles were fired into the sea off the Korean Peninsula 's east coast , Yonhap reports . Tensions in the region have eased since a peak last month .