SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Thursday fired several ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, adding to a run of weapons tests that have raised animosity in the region.

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan on Thursday morning, Seoul's military said, in what officials characterized as a possible test ahead of export to Russia.

The launch − the nuclear-armed North's first missile test since March − comes a week after Kim Jong Un's test-firing of a new warship weapons system. Experts warn that the North may be testing weapons for export to Russia for use against Ukraine.