The South Korean and American armies launched today, Wednesday, four short-range ballistic ground-to-ground missiles at virtual targets at sea, in response to North Korea's launch of a medium-range ballistic missile on Tuesday that flew over Japan, marking a precedent not seen for five years.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that both the South Korean and American armies launched two "ATACMS" missiles at virtual targets in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.

The statement explained that the launch of these short-range ballistic missiles was carried out "to hit a virtual target accurately."

The Joint Chiefs added in their statement: "These exercises showed that we are capable and ready to eliminate the source of provocation while maintaining continuous surveillance posture."

In its statement, the South Korean army pointed out that a missile launched by its units fell shortly after its launch and crashed, but this failure did not cause any injuries.

North Korea had launched yesterday morning, Tuesday, a medium-range ballistic missile that flew over Japan before falling into the Pacific Ocean, in an unprecedented event since 2017 that prompted Tokyo to activate the alarm system and ask residents in some areas to take shelter.

Pyongyang, which possesses nuclear weapons, has conducted an unprecedented series of tests this year in terms of frequency. These tests peaked last week when the North Korean army launched four short-range ballistic missiles.

In Washington, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in an interview with CNN that these exercises aim to "ensure that military capabilities are on standby to respond to northern provocations if necessary."

He added: "It should not come to that. We have made it clear to Kim Jong-un that we are ready to sit at the negotiating table without preconditions. We want to see a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."