North Korea fires two SRBMs into East Sea early Thursday

People watch a news report about North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launch on a screen at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Thursday. [YONHAP]

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) from Pyongyang into the East Sea in the early morning hours on Thursday, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) of South Korea.

The JCS said it detected the launches from the Samsok area in Pyongyang around 6 a.m. The missiles flew 350 to 800 kilometers (220 to 500 miles) at apogees of about 60 to 80 kilometers, according to the JCS.

Thursday’s launch comes only two days after the North fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) toward Japan, and is seen as a response to the USS Ronald Regan being redeployed to waters east of South Korea after the IRBM launch.

"While strengthening our monitoring and vigilance, our military is maintaining a posture of full readiness in close cooperation with the United States," the JCS said in a text message sent to reporters.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]