Photo: © 2009  AFP/AAP/JUNG YEON-JE

Yonhap said the missiles were surface-to-surface KN-02 rockets with a range of up to 120km. 

Yonhap also said the North declared a no-sail zone in areas off the country's east and west coasts from last Saturday to next Tuesday, indicating the country could carry out more missile tests.

The reported launches were the first since the regime conducted seven ballistic missile tests in early July and follows months of heightened tensions over its missile and nuclear programs.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in Belfast last night that the American efforts to proceed with talks with North Korea on its nuclear ambitions will proceed despite the new tests.

"Our goal remains the same," she said after a meeting with Northern Irish business leaders. "Our consultations with our partners and our allies continues unabated. It is unaffected by the behaviour of North Korea."

South Korea's conservative government is taking steps to engage more with the North, but shows no signs of easing its pressure on the North to disarm.

The Korean War ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty, which means that the two Koreas are still technically at war.