North Korea launched at least one projectile today toward the Sea of Japan, announced the South Korean armed forces, with Tokyo reporting the launch of two ballistic missiles.

The Japanese Coast Guard, citing the Ministry of Defense, stated that these two missiles appear to have completed their flight, without specifying where they landed.

The Japanese news agency Jiji Press reported that they fell outside the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, relaying information from sources within the Ministry of Defense.

This is the second test conducted by Pyongyang since the start of the year, following a volley of missiles on January 4, just hours before the departure of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol for a summit in China, and shortly after the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The test also comes a day after the visit to Seoul of the Pentagon’s third-ranking official, Elbridge Colby, who described South Korea as a “model ally.”

In recent years, North Korea has significantly increased its missile tests. According to analysts, this campaign aims to improve its ability to carry out precision strikes, defy the United States and South Korea, and test weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

Pyongyang is also preparing to hold a congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea in the coming weeks, the first in five years.

Ahead of this critically important session, the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has ordered the “expansion” and modernization of missile production in the country.