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SEOUL - North Korea conducted an apparent ballistic missile test early Thursday, its first such launch during U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.
The North fired two missiles that fell outside Japanese waters, according to Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
South Korea's Defense Ministry said the two projectiles were launched from South Hamgyong province but provided no other details.
Both Japanese and U.S. media quoted officials in their countries as saying the launches involved ballistic missiles.
If confirmed, the ballistic missile test would be North Korea's first in about a year, though it has more recently fired smaller projectiles.
South Korean officials said Wednesday that North Korea launched two cruise missiles Sunday from its western coast.
U.S. officials downplayed the importance of that launch, saying it was part of North Korea's "normal testing" that did not violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.
North Korea is prohibited from any ballistic missile activity by Security Council resolutions.
US policy review
The Biden administration is in the final stages of its North Korea policy review and has repeatedly spoken of its desire to renew diplomacy with the North.
North Korea, which is unhappy at the U.S. refusal to relax sanctions and provide other concessions, has said it will not respond to Washington's offers of dialogue.
Many experts expect North Korea will soon resume bigger tests, including possibly of longer-range ballistic missiles.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in January 2020 that he no longer felt bound by his self-imposed moratorium on long-range missile and nuclear tests.
Pyongyang has not conducted a nuclear test or launched an intercontinental ballistic missile since 2017 - before his diplomacy with former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim has repeatedly tested shorter-range ballistic missiles, but Trump downplayed those tests, saying they were unimportant.