N. KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILES

[Anchor Lead]

North Korea has fired ballistic missiles again in just three days. The South Korean and U.S. navies are to hold joint military drills deploying aircraft carriers in the East Sea through Thursday. It's quite rare for the North to fire missiles during joint military exercises.

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North Korea carried out its first provocation in three months by launching ballistic missiles on Sept. 25. It only took three days for the North to fire missiles again. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff says two short-range ballistic missiles were spotted on Wed. between 6:10 and 6:20 p.m. They were launched from Sunan, Pyongyang, into the East Sea. The projectiles flew about 360km at 30km altitude. Their speed was detected to be six times the speed of sound. The missiles were presumably fired from a transporter erector launcher, and targeted an uninhabited island in Hamkyongbuk-do Province. North Korea has fired ballistic missiles 18 times and cruise missiles twice this year. It's the sixth launch since the Yoon administration took office. The Seoul-Washington joint drills are currently underway in the Korea Theater of Operations in the East Sea with the U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan also deployed. More than 90 fighters including the FA-18s and early warning radar jets are mobilized from the aircraft carrier. So far, the regime fired missiles before or after joint drills as a sign of protest. Experts say it's quite unprecedented for Pyongyang to fire missiles during the exercises. JCS Chairman Kim Seung-kyum and Combined Forces Commander Paul LaCamera discussed the situation immediately after the missile launch. The military is stepping up monitoring and preparing for additional provocations from North Korea through close cooperation between Seoul and Washington.