North Korea launched three short-range guided missiles into the sea off its east coast on Saturday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.
Two missiles were launched in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon, said Kim Min-seok, a ministry spokesman.
Officials in the region have been watching for North Korean missile tests since South Korea detected mobile launch vehicles deployed on the North's east coast early last month. The vehicles carried intermediate-range missiles known as Musudan, which have never been tested and are believed to be the closest the North has to a missile capable of striking American bases on the Pacific island of Guam, as Pyongyang has threatened to do.
The missiles launched on Saturday did not include a Musudan, officials here said.
Tensions on the peninsula appear to have decreased in recent weeks, since the United States and South Korea completed their major annual military drills at the end of last month. The drills had angered the North.
Earlier this month, American officials said that North Korea had withdrawn the Musudan mobile launch vehicles, triggering speculation that Pyongyang wanted to de-escalate tensions or, perhaps, was moving the missiles out of view of spy satellites.
