DHAKA: North Korea has test-fired two medium-range ballistic missiles, just hours after the US, South Korea and Japan met in the Netherlands for talks.

It is the first launch of a Nodong missile since 2009 and marks a step up from the short-range rockets Pyongyang has fired in recent weeks.

The launches also came on the fourth anniversary of the sinking of a South Korean warship.

Washington and Seoul have condemned the launch, which violates UN resolutions.

The US State Department described the launch as ‘a troubling and provocative escalation’.

‘We urge North Korea to exercise restraint and refrain from further threatening actions,’ deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement, reports the BBC.

BDST: 1235, MAR 26, 2014