South Korea ? North Korea fired two short-range missiles into its coastal waters Thursday, apparently as part of regular military drills, South Korean military officials said amid a stalemate in international talks on the communist country’s nuclear weapons.

The missiles, fired into the waters off the North’s western coast, were believed to have a range of around 62 miles, an official at South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Friday.

Another official with the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were likely “part of regular military drills.” Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The North has in the past used such actions to signal its impatience with the international community and to ensure it gets the attention it feels it deserves.

The missiles, however, demonstrated no new threat from the North, and were unlikely to ratchet up regional tension.