North Korea test fires more land-to-ship missiles

North Korea has fired what appears to have been several land-to-ship missiles off its east coast, according to South Korea's military.

The missiles were launched on Thursday morning from the coastal city of Wonsan and they travelled a distance of about 124 miles, said the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff in a statement.

The missiles flew at an altitude of 1.2 miles before falling into the Sea of Japan.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said: "We can never tolerate these kind of provocative actions."

Mr Kishida said that the missiles did not land in Japanese territory and did not have any immediate impact on security.

The test comes despite the extension of UN sanctions less than a week ago and continued diplomatic pressure on the North Koreans to end their nuclear and missile programmes.

North Korea has said the programmes are to protect itself from US aggression but they are also reported to be trying to develop a ballistic missile that is capable of reaching the US mainland.