North Korea fired four missiles&nbsp;early Monday (January 6), three of which crashed into Japan-controlled waters, according to authorities in Tokyo and South Korea.

&quot;In terms of the range, it is around 1,000 kilometres,&quot; South&#39;s military&nbsp;said, adding Seoul and the US were &quot;closely analysing&quot; tracking data for further details.

South Korea&#39;s defence ministry said the projectiles were test-fired from North Pyongyang province &quot;around 7.36 am&quot; (2236 GMT).

Moments later, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the parliament: &quot;North Korea today fired four ballistic missiles almost simultaneously and they flew some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles).&quot;&nbsp;

The latest test-fires come&nbsp;a month after North Korea had launched a ballistic missile just days after US President Donald Trump assumed power.

North Korea is barred by the United Nations from launching any nuclear missile or use of any ballistic missile technology.

South Korea&#39;s Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed military official&nbsp;as saying the latest launch might be of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the United States.

North leader Kim Jong-Un has repeatedly warned of striking the US with nuclear missiles.

Just weeks before&nbsp;Donald Trump&#39;s inauguration as the country&#39;s 45th president, Kim had promised to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) any time soon.

In his New Year&#39;s speech this year, Kim said that the preparation for launching an ICBM was in its &quot;final stages&quot;.

But the nature of Monday&#39;s missiles are&nbsp;yet to be determined.

Visiting a&nbsp;North&nbsp;Korean army headquarters unit, leader&nbsp;Kim&nbsp;Jong-Un ordered the troops to &quot;set up thorough countermeasures of a merciless strike against the enemy&#39;s sudden air assault&quot;, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on the day the Foal Eagle exercises started.

Pyongyang has conducted five nuclear tests in the last ten years and fired 20 ballistic missiles in 2016 alone, but it is yet to test-fire an ICBM, according to The New York Times.

Pyongyang&#39;s yet another defiant test-fire is likely to test the Donald Trump administration yet again.

Despite a raft of sanctions imposed on the reclusive nation, Kim&#39;s North has gone ahead developing its nuclear capability.

Tokyo stocks open lower

Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday after the yen rose and as investors awaited more information on North Korea&#39;s firing of ballistic missiles, three of which landed in Japanese waters.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index &nbsp;fell 0.52 per cent, or 100.67 points, to 19,368.50 in early trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.35 per cent, or 5.40 points, at 1,552.65.

(WION with inputs from AFP)

A military official?said the latest launch might be of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the US

North Korea fired four missiles early Monday (January 6), three of which crashed into Japan-controlled waters, according to authorities in Tokyo and South Korea. "In terms of the range, it is around 1,000 kilometres," South's military said, adding Seoul and the US were "closely analysing" tracking data for further details. South Korea's defence ministry said the projectiles were test-fired from North Pyongyang province "around 7.36 am" (2236 GMT). Moments later, Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told the parliament: "North Korea today fired four ballistic missiles almost simultaneously and they flew some 1,000 kilometres (620 miles)." The latest test-fires come a month after North Korea had launched a ballistic missile just days after US President Donald Trump assumed power. North Korea is barred by the United Nations from launching any nuclear missile or use of any ballistic missile technology. South Korea's Yonhap news agency quoted an unnamed military official as saying the latest launch might be of an intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the United States. North leader Kim Jong-Un has repeatedly warned of striking the US with nuclear missiles. Just weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration as the country's 45th president, Kim had promised to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) any time soon. In his New Year's speech this year, Kim said that the preparation for launching an ICBM was in its "final stages". But the nature of Monday's missiles are yet to be determined. Visiting a North Korean army headquarters unit, leader Kim Jong-Un ordered the troops to "set up thorough countermeasures of a merciless strike against the enemy's sudden air assault", the state-run Korean Central News Agency said on the day the Foal Eagle exercises started. Pyongyang has conducted five nuclear tests in the last ten years and fired 20 ballistic missiles in 2016 alone, but it is yet to test-fire an ICBM, according to The New York Times. Pyongyang's yet another defiant test-fire is likely to test the Donald Trump administration yet again. Despite a raft of sanctions imposed on the reclusive nation, Kim's North has gone ahead developing its nuclear capability. Tokyo stocks open lower Tokyo stocks opened lower on Monday after the yen rose and as investors awaited more information on North Korea's firing of ballistic missiles, three of which landed in Japanese waters. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.52 per cent, or 100.67 points, to 19,368.50 in early trading, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.35 per cent, or 5.40 points, at 1,552.65. (WION with inputs from AFP)

North Korea fires four missiles, three land in Japanese waters

North Korea&#39;s foreign minister&nbsp;on Friday&nbsp;said North Korea will continue to strengthen its &quot;national nuclear armed forces in both quantity and quality&quot; despite UN sanctions.&nbsp; 
 
Ri Yong Ho during his address to the United Nations General Assembly said the country&#39;s nuclear weapons are a &quot;a righteous self-defence measure&quot; against &quot;constant nuclear threats of the United States&quot;. 
 
&quot;Going nuclear-armed is the policy of our state,&quot; Yong Ho said. 
 
North Korea is the &quot;most dangerous hotspot, which can even ignite the outbreak of nuclear war&quot; and the blame will lie &quot;squarely&quot; with the US, the foreign minister said. 
 
&quot;As long as there exists a nuclear-weapon state in hostile relations with the DPRK (Democratic People&#39;s Republic of Korea), our national security and peace on the Korean peninsula can be defended only with reliable nuclear deterrence,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
Ri also said the UN Security Council&#39;s decision to impose sanctions was only &quot;covering up the high-handedness and arbitrariness of the United States&quot;. 
 
The country conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test on September 9, igniting global ire and condemnation. This has led to talks on imposing new UN sanctions against the isolated country.&nbsp; 
 
No negotiations on THAAD 
 
Daniel Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said there will be no negotiations regarding the THAAD anti-missile system, which is set to be deployed in South Korea, as part of the UN sanctions agreement. &nbsp; 
&quot;No. The two countries have made a decision,&quot; he told Reuters. 
 
Although China remains opposed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, it has agreed to work with the UN on imposing tough sanctions on North Korea.&nbsp; 
 
According to The Diplomat, THAAD is particularly well-suited to intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

US says THAAD missile deployment system not negotiable as part of new sanctions on the country

North Korea's foreign minister on Friday said North Korea will continue to strengthen its "national nuclear armed forces in both quantity and quality" despite UN sanctions. Ri Yong Ho during his address to the United Nations General Assembly said the country's nuclear weapons are a "a righteous self-defence measure" against "constant nuclear threats of the United States". "Going nuclear-armed is the policy of our state," Yong Ho said. North Korea is the "most dangerous hotspot, which can even ignite the outbreak of nuclear war" and the blame will lie "squarely" with the US, the foreign minister said. "As long as there exists a nuclear-weapon state in hostile relations with the DPRK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), our national security and peace on the Korean peninsula can be defended only with reliable nuclear deterrence," he said. Ri also said the UN Security Council's decision to impose sanctions was only "covering up the high-handedness and arbitrariness of the United States". The country conducted its fifth and largest nuclear test on September 9, igniting global ire and condemnation. This has led to talks on imposing new UN sanctions against the isolated country. No negotiations on THAAD Daniel Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asia, said there will be no negotiations regarding the THAAD anti-missile system, which is set to be deployed in South Korea, as part of the UN sanctions agreement. "No. The two countries have made a decision," he told Reuters. Although China remains opposed to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, it has agreed to work with the UN on imposing tough sanctions on North Korea. According to The Diplomat, THAAD is particularly well-suited to intercept and destroy short, medium and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal phase. (WION with inputs from agencies)

North Korea defies UN, vows to strengthen nuclear capability

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North Korea fires four missiles, three land in Japanese waters

North Korea defies UN, vows to strengthen nuclear capability