July 2 (Bloomberg) — North Korea fired four short-range missiles off its eastern coast today in defiance of United Nations sanctions imposed after a nuclear test, South Korea’s military and a U.S. official said.

The communist state launched the devices from South Hamgyong province at 5:20 p.m., 6 p.m., 7:50 p.m. and 9:20 p.m. local time, said an official at South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff who declined to be identified for security reasons. The action probably was part of a military drill, according to the same official.

North Korea has used such launches in the past to counter international condemnation of its nuclear program. The regime fired six short-range missiles in May, following its detonation of a nuclear bomb.

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