SOUTH KOREAN generals said yesterday that North Korea had test-fired three missiles as Beijing pressed Seoul to halt the establishment of US missile defence systems.

Seoul’s joint chiefs of staff said Pyongyang had launched three Rodong ballistic missiles, which landed somewhere in Japan’s 200-nautical-mile maritime exclusion zone.

The top brass called it an “armed protest” to coincide with the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, while Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called the launches a “serious threat” to the country’s security.