SEOUL: North Korea launched short-range missiles into the sea Saturday, the South Korean military said, in what would be Pyongyang's first such action for more than a year as it seeks to up pressure on Washington with nuclear talks deadlocked.

The North 'fired a number of short-range missiles from its Hodo peninsula near the east coast town of Wonsan to the northeastern direction from 9:06 am (0006 GMT) to 09:27 am today,' the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.