SEOUL – South Korea and the United States fired four missiles into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted the military as saying on Wednesday (local time).
The shooting follows the launch of a ballistic missile from North Korea that flew over Japan the day before, something that had not happened for five years, the South Korean military said.
The South Korean and US militaries respectively fired two Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles that hit test targets, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had called Pyongyang's shot a "provocation" and called for a "firm response."
On Tuesday, US and South Korean fighter planes had launched a bombing exercise in the Yellow Sea.
The last time Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan was in 2017, amid heightened tensions between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the latest North Korean test had been "clearly an escalation."
