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Seoul (AP) - North Korea has fired two unidentified projectiles towards the open sea, according to the South Korean military.
The missiles were shot down in the east of the country, said the General Staff in South Korea.
It was initially unclear whether the missiles were ballistic missiles.
Further investigations would be carried out with the US military, it said.
South Korea's National Security Council wanted to deal with the weapons test in an emergency meeting, according to the presidential office in Seoul.
The Japanese news agency Kyodo reported, citing a government official, that North Korea may have fired two ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea) on its east coast.
They fell into the sea outside of Japanese waters.
UN resolutions forbid the country, isolated because of its nuclear weapons program, from testing missiles that, depending on their design, can also carry a nuclear warhead.
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According to South Korea, North Korea fired two suspected cruise missiles of short range on the west coast last Sunday.
The US also confirmed the test, but US President Joe Biden played it down.
Tests of guided missiles are not subject to the sanctions against the partitioned country.
Unlike ballistic missiles, cruise missiles have their own permanent propulsion system.
North Korea has been testing missiles with various ranges for many years.
It is also developing long-range missiles that could hit targets in the United States.
The communist government in Pyongyang accuses the USA of hostile policies.
The bilateral negotiations on the North Korean nuclear program have not progressed for two years.
The new US administration under President Joe Biden is currently in the process of formulating a new North Korea policy in cooperation with South Korea and other allied countries.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210325-99-960418 / 2