North Korea reportedly test-fired two Scud-type missiles off its eastern on Saturday morning, according to a report from South Korean official news agency Yonhap.
The report quoted a South Korean government official as saying that the ground-to-ground missiles were "estimated to have a range of 400-500km." The official evaluated that the missiles were more dangerous than previous missiles fired as they cover a longer range.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that the missiles were fired between 8 a.m. (2300 GMT) and 8:30 a.m. (2330 GMT), though he did not comment on the range of the missiles.
"Our military is fully ready to counter any North Korean threats and provocations based on strong South Korea-US combined defense posture," the statement said. RELATEDNorth Korea fires four missiles
The Yonhap report also noted that other officials saw the test-launch as a "politically motivated move" connected to US Independence Day.
On Thursday, North Korea fired a barrage of short-range missiles off its east coast.
Pyongyang had earlier marked a large area of water off its east coast as a no-sail zone through July 10, citing military drills. Thursday's launches of four short-range missiles were believed to be the North's first military action in the designated zone.
Citing an unnamed military official, Yonhap reported that all four missiles flew about 100 kilometers and identified them as KN-01 missiles with a range of up to 100 miles 160 kilometers.
Tensions over North Korea's actions came as its leader Kim Jong Il had reportedly been laying the groundwork to hand power over to one of his sons, and as two American journalists were imprisoned for illegal border crossing and hostile acts.
Analysts predict the North will continue its provocative acts in an attempt to command world attention that can lead to economic benefits.
"I think what North Korea will continue to do is ratchet up the tension," said Brad Glosserman, another analyst at the CSIS think tank. "It needs that attention to get the concessions from other countries ... as well as to demonstrate its strength to domestic constituencies."
US President Barack Obama has vowed the US won't make the same mistake of rewarding North Korea's bad behavior, and his administration has been pressing China - a key North Korean ally - to enforce the new UN sanctions against Pyongyang.
