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South Korean army soldiers prepare to fire 105mm howitzers during an exercise in Paju, South Korea, near the border with North Korea Wednesday, June 22, 2016. In a remarkable show of persistence, North Korea on Wednesday fired two suspected powerful new Musudan mid-range missiles, U.S. and South Korean military officials said, but at least one of the launches apparently failed, Pyongyang's fifth such reported flop since April.(Photo: Ahn Young-joon, AP)
TOKYO<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— North Korea launched two medium-range ballistic missiles early Wednesday in defiance of international sanctions.
U.S. military officials said two Musudan missiles were launched from Wonsan, North Korea, and were tracked over the Sea of Japan, where they fell.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said earlier that the first launch Wednesday was “presumed to have been unsuccessful,” according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
The launches were the latest in a series of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests that have raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula and led to a tightening of international sanctions in recent months.
“The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) determined the missile launches from North Korea did not pose a threat to North America. We strongly condemn this and other North Korea's missile test in violation of UN Security Council Resolutions, which explicitly prohibit North Korea's use of ballistic missile technology,” said CDR Dave Benham, a spokesperson for U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu.
He said U.S. forces were “closely monitoring the situation on the Korean Peninsula in coordination with our regional allies.”
The Musudan missiles are believed to have a range of 2,180 miles, which would put key U.S. military bases in Japan and Guam at risk.
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A picture released by the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the ruling North Korean Workers Party, on Sept. 8, 2015, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center front, and Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, second from right, a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and first vice-president of the Council of State, watching an art performance by the Moranbong Band and the State Merited Chorus in Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 7, 2015. Bermudez led a Cuban delegation to North Korea to mark the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Cuba. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Rodong Sinmun, European Pressphoto Agency
Men and women pump their fists in the air and chant "defend!" as they carry propaganda slogans calling for reunification of their country during the "Pyongyang Mass Rally on the Day of the Struggle Against the U.S.," attended by approximately 100,000 North Koreans to mark the 65th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at the Kim Il Sung stadium, Thursday, June 25, 2015, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The month of June in North Korea is known as the "Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month" and it's a time for North Koreans to swarm to war museums, mobilize for gatherings denouncing the evils of the United States and join in a general, nationwide whipping up of the anti-American sentiment.<span style="color: Red;">*</span> Wong Maye-E, AP
North Koreans gather in front of a portrait of their late leader Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il, right, paying respects to their late leader Kim Jong Il, to mark the third anniversary of his death, Wednesday Dec. 17 at Pyong Chon District in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea marked the end of a three-year mourning period for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Wednesday, opening the way for his son, Kim Jong Un, to put a more personal stamp on the way the country is run. <span style="color: Red;">*</span> Kim Kwang Hyon, AP
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South Korea’s military was<span style="color: Red;">*</span>studying the launch and stepping up surveillance, according to Yonhap.
"We are tracking any missile-related signs and maintain a high state of readiness," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
In Japan, Defense Minister Gen Nakatani called the launches “provocative” and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the actions "simply cannot be tolerated." Japan earlier deployed missile-defense batteries in the heart of Tokyo in anticipation of the launches.
The U.N. imposed strict sanctions against the North earlier this year after it conducted its fourth nuclear test and a long-range missile launch.
The North attempted three launches of the new Musudan missile in April, all of which ended in apparent failure.
“Every time the North Koreans test their nuclear and missile capabilities, they learn something, and get better,” said<span style="color: Red;">*</span>John Delury, an associate professor at Yonsei University<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Graduate School of International Studies, in Seoul, in an interview earlier this year.
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