The United States is aware of North Korea's latest "missile" launches and is closely consulting with South Korea and Japan, a senior U.S. government official said Thursday.

South Korea's military said North Korea fired unidentified short-range projectiles off its east coast early Friday (Seoul time), its third launch in a week.

This footage, aired by the (North) Korean Central Television on July 26, 2019, shows a short-range missile being fired from a transporter erector launcher on the Hodo Peninsula near the eastern coastal town of Wonsan the previous day.

"We are aware of public reports of additional missile launches from North Korea today," the official told Yonhap News Agency, describing the projectiles as missiles.

"We continue to monitor the situation and are consulting closely with our South Korean and Japanese allies," he said.

North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles on Wednesday, six days after launching two similar ones, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The North disputed the assessment of Wednesday's launch, saying it had tested a new rocket system. (Yonhap)

Kim Do-Kyun  edt@koreapost.com

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