North Korea fires 2 ballistic missiles into Sea of Japan

North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, says the US and Japan - the first such test since Joe Biden became US president, reports BBC.

Pyongyang is banned from testing ballistic missiles, which are considered threatening weapons, under UN Security Council resolutions.

Japan said no debris had fallen within its territorial waters.

It comes just days after North Korea fired two non-ballistic missiles into the Yellow Sea.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Thursday that the tests posed a threat to security and peace to his country as well as the region.

A statement from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff initially reported the launch of two "unidentified projectiles".

Mr Biden has yet to officially comment on the latest test.

On Tuesday he played down the non-ballistic missile launch which took place over the weekend, saying the US did not consider it as a provocation. Those short-range missiles were thought to be either artillery or cruise missiles, which are not banned under the UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea.

Meanwhile earlier this month, the US received its first North Korean in custody after Mun Chol Myung was extradited from Malaysia. Mr Mun is a businessman accused of laundering money through the US financial system to provide luxury items in North Korea.