TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - North Korea has launched three short range missiles into the sea off the Korean Peninsula's east coast on Saturday. According to a source at the South Korean Defense Department, it had detected two launches in the morning, followed by another in the afternoon. The missiles were fired in a northeasterly direction, away from South Korean waters, the ministry said.

South Korea has then beefed up monitoring on North Korea and is maintaining a high-level of readiness to deal with any risky developments.

According to the Arms Control Association, a U.S.-based organization, short-range guided missiles are generally classified as those traveling less than 1,000 kilometers (about 620 miles.). The launching of the missiles was feared to heighten the tension in the region after it was less tense in the past few days.

U.S. and South Korean officials feared that Kim Jong Un's regime was planning to carry out a test launch of longer-range ballistic missiles, believed to be Musudans. The South Korean government says they have a maximum range of 3,500 kilometers (2,175 miles).

Andrew Salmon, a journalist and author based in the South Korean capital, Seoul, said North Korea's reported launch of short-range missiles on Saturday should not cause the same degree of concern. "It's a short-range tactical weapon. If any other country launched this kind of weapon, it's a routine test, nobody would be too worried" he said.

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