North Korea fired four short-range missiles toward the sea off the country's east coast on Thursday, Feb 27, a media official at South Korea's Defense Ministry said, while providing no information on the purpose of the firing,

North Korea fired the missiles at 5:42 pm (0342 ET) from a mountain site just north of the border with the South, the official said, according to Reuters.

North Korea has in the past fired short-range missiles into the sea as part of military exercises.