By Song Baleun and Lee Hana

The Ministry of National Defense has made an announcement on North Korea's firing of short-range missiles on May 4, saying, "Pyeongyang's actions violate the spirit of the inter-Korean military agreement."

"While the comprehensive military agreement signed on Sept. 19 last year doesn't stipulate a ban on missile launches, the firing of projectiles goes against the spirit of the agreement, which is needed to ease tension on the Korean Peninsula," ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a news briefing on May 7. "We urge North Korea to halt acts that escalate military tension on the peninsula."

Kim Joon-rak, spokesman of Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), said the South Korean military detected "multiple short-range projectiles being fired into the east coast between 9:06 a.m. and 10:55 a.m.,” adding, “The object reportedly flew for 70-240 km at an altitude of between 20 and 60 km.”

Kim said more analysis was needed to confirm whether North Korea had launched a short-range ballistic missile. "South Korean and U.S. intelligence have been proceeding with a detailed analysis to verify the facts," he said.

On May 4, the JCS announced that the North had launched a short-range projectile towards the East Sea from near Wonsan on the North Korean side of Gangwon-do Province.

brightsong@korea.kr