Tokyo, Oct 12 (IANS) North Korea on Monday fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan, local media reported. South Korea's military said that few of the missiles flew above 900 kilometres, while Japan said two missiles likely fell outside its exclusive zone.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that the missiles were launched near Pyongyang on Monday at around 9:20 am (local time), Japan's Kyodo News reported.

Japan's parliamentary vice defence minister Takashi Koyari said Japan lodged a protest with North Korea through a diplomatic channel and condemned the missile launches, which violated relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Koyari said, "We are analysing details, including whether it flew on an irregular trajectory," adding that the second missile is estimated to have reached an altitude of 70 kilometres and flew over 910 kilometres.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi directed government offices to make efforts to gather and assess information, share it with the people quickly and accurately and ensure safe navigation at sea and in airspace, Kyodo News reported.

North Korea's latest missile launch comes after it fired a ballistic missile on October 3.

South Korea's military said that North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the East Sea on October 3.

South Korea's JCS said that it detected the missile launch from the Wonsan area at about 6:30 a.m. (local time) without mentioning details regarding the type of missile launched, South Korea-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

The JCS said the missile flew above 700 kilometres before landing at sea, adding that it was assessing the exact details of the launch with the US side. It stated that South Korean and US intelligence authorities had monitored the missile launch since its early stage and shared relevant information.

It further stated, "Our military is closely monitoring various movements by the North under a robust South Korea-US combined defence posture and maintaining the capability and readiness to respond decisively to any provocations."

--IANS

akl/sd/