Japan’s Coast Guard said the missiles splashed down in the Sea of Japan, according to Japanese media reports.

Japan’s Coast Guard said the first ballistic missile was fired on Saturday morning shortly after 08:00am local time (23:00 GMT) and the second was launched at approximately 08:16am (23:16 GMT), The Japan Times reported.

The missiles splashed down in the Sea of Japan but outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone – a body of water that extends approximately 370km (200 nautical miles) from the country’s coastline, according to the news organisation.

North Korea fired off at least two apparent ballistic missiles on Saturday, the final day of 2022, after a record-breaking year of launches. https://t.co/jHx3rdRihR

— The Japan Times (@japantimes) December 30, 2022

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the first missile launch by North Korea but gave no further details, such as the specific type of weapon or the distance the missile had travelled.

The launches on Saturday add to North Korea’s tally of about 70 ballistic missiles – including some eight intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) – fired throughout the year, the most ever by the nuclear-armed Pyongyang which has officially announced plans to modernise its military capabilities in response to what it says is provocation by South Korea and its key ally, the United States.

Saturday’s launch also comes just days after North Korea allegedly flew drones into South Korea’s airspace for the first time since 2017, prompting Seoul to deploy fighter jets and helicopters to shoot down the unmanned aerial vehicles.

South Korea’s military later apologised for failing to shoot down the drones and the country’s President Yoon Suk Yeol has since called for stronger air defences and high-tech stealth drones to better monitor North Korea.