North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles off the east coast and into the sea, Japan’s prime minister has said.

Yoshihide Suga said the launches threaten “peace and safety in Japan and the region” and that Tokyo would closely coordinate with Washington and Seoul about the North’s testing activities, Sky News reports.

North Korea’s ballistic missiles are banned under the United Nations Security Council Resolutions.

South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the US and South Korean militaries were analysing the launches, which they said were fired at around 7.06am and 7.25am, local time, from South Hamgyong Province.

The launches could pose a challenge to US President Joe Biden, whose administration has yet to meaningfully engage with the nation.

The United States military’s Pacific Command said they are monitoring the situation and consulting with allies.

The launches came a day after American and South Korean officials said the North had fired short-range weapons, presumed to be cruise missiles, into its western sea over the weekend.

South Korea’s defence ministry said the North’s short-range tests on Sunday were its first missile firings since April 2020.

Mr Biden played down those launches, telling reporters, “There’s no new wrinkle in what they did.”

South Korea’s presidential office said it will hold an emergency National Security Council meeting to discuss the launches.

Nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea have been stalled since the collapse of Kim Jong Un’s second summit with former President Donald Trump in February 2019.

Then, US officials rejected North Korean demands for major sanctions relief, in exchange for a partial surrender of their nuclear capabilities.

Pyongyang has said it refuses to hold talks with Mr Biden unless Washington abandons “hostile” sanctions and pressure over its nuclear programme.

Last week, Mr Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong criticised the United States over staging combined military exercises with South Korea.

In North Korea’s first comments towards the Biden administration, she described the drills as an invasion rehearsal and warned Washington to “refrain from causing a stink” if it wants to “sleep in peace” for the next four years.

In the past, Pyongyang has often responded to US-South Korea drills with missile tests.

On a visit to Seoul last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticised North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and human rights record.

He pressed China to use its “tremendous influence” to convince the North to denuclearise.