South Korea launched on Friday two Hyunmoo-2 missiles were launched from a site near the inter-Korean border six minutes after the North fired a missile from the Sunan district of Pyongyang.

Yonhap quoted a Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) official as saying that one of the South Korean missiles “accurately hit” a simulated target in the East Sea some 250 kilometers away. The other fell into water during the initial stage of the flight.

According to the report, the launch was performed while the North Korean missile was still in the air. The South Korean Defense Ministry explained that it was able to make an on-the-fly response because it had detected the North’s preparation for a launch in advance.

Earlier in the day, it was reported that had Pyongyang launched another missile, the 15th North Korean missile test this year.

The unidentified projectile was heading east, according to published reports, after leaving the launch pad around 6:57 a.m. local time. The missile flew for about 20 minutes until falling into the Pacific Ocean at 7:16 a.m. about 2,000 kilometers east of Hokkaido, NHK reported citing Japanese government officials.

Source: Sputnik