South Korea announced on Sunday that North Korea had fired two ballistic missiles. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it detected two ballistic missiles fired from the Tongchang-ri region in North Pyongan province.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated this year due to the successive missile launches. “Our military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance while maintaining a position of full readiness and in close cooperation with the United States” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSF) said in a statement. Sunday’s firing came days after North Korea’s “high thrust solid propellant engine” trial, and state media described it as an important test “for the development of a new type of strategic weapons system”.

North Korea will determine its 2023 policy statements at an important party meeting later this month, AFP reported. The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Un said that 2023 will be a “historic year”. Kim, who has given a speech every January 1 in the past years, recently made a statement at the year-end general assembly meeting. Experts predict that Kim, who avoided addressing the US directly last year, may address the USA this time.