<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles Friday, Seoul's military said, the latest in a recent flurry of sanctions-busting weapons tests.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">It has been a year of unprecedented tests by the North, including the launch of its most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile last month, the test of what Pyongyang says was a new rocket engine last week, and claims this week it has developed new capabilities to take images from space.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Our military spotted two short-range ballistic missiles launched by North Korea into the East Sea from the Sunan area of Pyongyang at around 16:32 (0732 GMT) today," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Our military maintains a full readiness posture while closely cooperating with the US while strengthening surveillance and vigilance."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The United States and South Korea have warned for months that Pyongyang is preparing to conduct its seventh nuclear test.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two countries held a joint air drill on Tuesday, and deployed a US B-52H strategic bomber to the Korean peninsula, according to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The long-range heavy bomber was part of an exercise that included the US and South Korea's most advanced jets -- including the F-22 and the F-35 stealth fighters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Friday's launch came hours after the White House said Pyongyang had delivered arms to the Russian private military group Wagner.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Disclosing the delivery on Thursday US time, the White House called Wagner a "rival" for power to the defence and other ministries in the Kremlin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">- 'Putin's chef' -</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Wagner group is controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman once called "Putin's chef" for his work catering dinners for the powerful leader before and after he became the Russian president.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency, the North Korean foreign ministry denied conducting any arms transaction with Russia, saying the story was "cooked up by some dishonest forces for different purposes".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite heavy international sanctions over its weapons programmes, Pyongyang has built up an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Last week, North Korea tested a "high-thrust solid-fuel motor", with state media describing it as an important test "for the development of another new-type strategic weapon system".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All its known ICBMs are liquid-fuelled, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has placed strategic priority on developing solid-fuel engines for more advanced missiles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">His powerful sister also insisted earlier this week that the North had developed advanced technologies to take images from space using a spy satellite.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kim said this year that he wants North Korea to have the world's most powerful nuclear force, and declared his country an "irreversible" nuclear state.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The wishlist he revealed last year included solid-fuel ICBMs that could be launched from land or submarines.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The latest motor test was a step towards that goal, but it is not clear how far North Korea has come in the development of such a missile, analysts said. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>