North Korea has fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea, South Korea’s military said on Thursday. The firing is a likely show of anger at continuing war games by Washington and Seoul and another ratcheting up of hostility on the Korean peninsula. The South Korean defence ministry says the missiles were fired from north Hwanghae province, south of the capital, Pyongyang, and flew about 500 km (310 miles), before falling into the water off the country’s east coast. Missile firings by the North are not uncommon when animosity rises in the region. North Korea hates the large annual military drills staged by Seoul and Washington, calling them invasion preparations. US and South Korean troops began the military drills this week, which the North calls “nuclear war moves” and threatened to respond with an all-out offensive. The allies call the drills defensive and routine. This year’s are described as the biggest ever. Pyongyang is also angry over tough United Nations sanctions following its recent nuclear test and long range rocket launch. The firings come a day after North Korea publicised a purported mock-up of a key part of a nuclear warhead, with leader Kim Jong-un repeating a claim that his country has developed miniaturised atomic bombs that can be placed on missiles. The North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried photos on its front page showing Kim and nuclear scientists standing beside what outside analysts say appears to be a model warhead part with a ballistic missile or a model ballistic missile in the background. The newspaper said Kim met his nuclear scientists for a briefing on the status of their work and declared he was greatly pleased that warheads had been standardised and miniaturised for use on ballistic missiles. Information from North Korea is often impossible to confirm, and the country’s state media has a history of photo manipulations. But it was the first time the North has publicly displayed its purported nuclear designs, though it remains unclear whether the country has functioning warheads of that size or is simply trying to develop one. South Korea’s defence ministry disputed the North’s claim that it possesses miniaturised warheads. It called the photos and miniaturisation claim an “intolerable direct challenge” to the international community. US state department spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, saying it was an intelligence matter, but he told reporters the US takes Pyongyang’s rhetoric seriously. He said the North Korean leader, who is thought to be in his early thirties, needs to pay more attention to the needs of his people rather pursue “reckless capabilities.” North Korea warned on Monday of pre-emptive nuclear strikes after the United States and South Korea began the war games, which are to continue until the end of April. North Korea has previously said it has nuclear warheads small enough to put on long-range missiles capable of striking the US mainland, but experts have questioned those claims. The round object shown in the photos appears to be a model of a warhead trigger device which would contain uranium or plutonium, according to nuclear expert Whang Joo-ho of Kyung Hee university in South Korea. He said it was obviously a model because Kim and others would not stand near an actual device because of concerns about radioactivity. Karl Dewey, a senior analyst for IHS Jane’s, a defence and aerospace publishing company, said the sphere could be a simple implosion weapon, possibly with hydrogen isotopes added to make it more efficient. “It is unlikely that the object in the photo is a thermonuclear bomb [also referred to as a hydrogen bomb],” he said in a statement. “Thermonuclear weapons are multistage devices and in modern weapons the need to place two separate stages together would result in a more oblong-like structure.” Also shown in the photos is a KN-08 ballistic missile or its model, which reportedly has an estimated range of 10,000km (6,200 miles), according to South Korean analysts. The KN-08, which North Korea showed off in 2012, is said to be capable of being launched from a road-mobile vehicle, which would make it difficult to monitor via satellite. The South Korean Defense Ministry said it believes the missile hasn’t been proven functional. North Korea says it tested its first hydrogen bomb on January 6, followed last month by the launch of a rocket that put a satellite into orbit but which violated UN resolutions because it employs dual-use technology that could also be applied to long-range ballistic missiles. North Korea’s development of smaller nuclear weapons and long-range missiles has long been a matter of concern and could shake up the security balance in Asia.
North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on 10 March. The move is likely a show of anger over the continued joint military exercises that South Korea and the US are currently conducting in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), which separates North and South Korea. The move by North Korea comes a day after its ruling regime publicised a purported mock-up of a key part of a nuclear warhead. While such a reaction from the country is not uncommon, it will increase tensions in the Korean peninsula. The country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, took the opportunity to repeat that North Korea had developed a small atomic bomb, which could be placed on a missile. South Korea described the move as an “intolerable direct challenge” to the international community.