TOKYO, Aug 24 — Japan’s Coast Guard said it detected a suspected ballistic missile launch from North Korea yesterday, while Yonhap news agency quoted the South Korean military as saying North Korea had fired two projectiles into the sea off its east coast.

A series of launches by North Korea since US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met at the inter-Korean border in June have complicated attempts to restart talks between US and North Korean negotiators over the future of Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC) said North Korea fired the projectiles yesterday morning from around Sondok, South Hamgyong Province, according to Yonhap. Sondok is the site of a North Korean military airfield.

Japan’s Coast Guard warned shipping not to approach any fallen debris.

South Korea’s presidential office is holding a National Security Council meeting about North Korea’s launch, the office said in a statement. — Reuters