MOSCOW, July 19. /TASS/. North Korea test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan late on Tuesday, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday citing South Korean military.

Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said both missiles have apparently splashed down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, the agency reported.

Reuters, in turn, quoted the Japanese Defense Ministry as saying that the first ballistic missile covered the distance of 550 kilometers, the second - of 600 kilometers. The maximum altitude of their flight was 50 km.

North Korea test-launched its Hwasong-18 solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on July 12. As the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, the launch was personally directed by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. During the test-launch, the ICBM flew a distance of 1,001 km and fell in the Sea of Japan.

North Korea’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Kim Song said at a UN Security Council meeting on this issue on July 13 that missile test-launches are an exercise in the republic’s right to self-defense, which is enshrined in the UN Charter.