North Korea fires three ballistic missiles into sea

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

An underwater test-firing of a strategic submarine ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency. (Reuters File)

The missiles were fired from a western region south of the capital Pyongyang, said the statement just after noon local time (0300 GMT). No other details were immediately available.

The launches came hours after the leaders of South Korea and China, the North’s main diplomatic ally, met on the sidelines of a world leaders’ meeting in Hangzhou, China.