North Korea fired three ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast this morning, South Korea's Office of Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The missiles were fired from a western region south of the capital Pyongyang, said the statement just after noon local time (4am Malta). No other details were immediately available.

The launches came hours after the leaders of South Korea and China, the North's main diplomatic ally, met on the sidelines of a world leaders' meeting in Hangzhou, China.

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