North Korea 'fires three ballistic missiles'

Pyongyang: North Korea on Monday night fired three ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military says.

The missiles, believed to be Scud-types, were launched from the western city of Hwangju, BBC quoted the Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying in a statement.

They flew some 500 km and 600 km, with a range enough to reach all of South Korea.

It comes after the US and the South said they would deploy an anti-missile system to counter the threats.

Tensions have soared since Pyongyang carried out its fourth nuclear test in January, followed by a series of missile launches, BBC added.

The latest launches happened between 05:45 local time (20:45 GMT on Monday) to 06:40, the military statement added.