The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said they were likely antiship missiles fired from near the city of Wonsan on North Korea's east coast that flew about 125 miles.
North Korea has been firing missiles on an nearly weekly basis since the election of South Korean President Moon Jae In early last month.
Officials said the missile had zeroed in on a chosen target in and landed just metres apart what was lauded as a "victory" for the country.
JCS spokesman Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon added that the North's test appeared to be aimed at "demonstrating its anti-ship precision-strike ability in connection with joint maritime drills involving US aircraft carrier strike groups".
The launches Thursday were North Korea's fourth missile test in as many weeks as the country continues to speed up its development of nuclear weapons and missiles.
North Korea's missile arsenal includes the Silkworm short-range surface-to-ship missile and the KN-01 anti-ship missile, a variant.
"We assess that North Korea meant to show off its various missile capabilities, display its precise targeting capability, in the form of armed protests against ships in regard to US Navy carrier strike groups and joint naval drills", South Korea's Joint of Chiefs of Staff spokesman Roh Jae-cheon explains to the press.
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Producers gave a similar answer - 63% - when asked how renegotiation would affect the USA economy overall. Ross said the agreement will be finalized "in days, not weeks or months".
The missiles flew in a northeastward direction at a maximum altitude of about 2 km, Army Col. Roh Jae-cheon, a spokesman for the JCS, told reporters, according to Yonhap news.
The ministry said that South Korea's Coast Guard will hand over the other two fishermen at around 9:00 a.m. Friday, across the de facto maritime border in the East Sea. Making THAAD less effective or even making it go away won't make North Korean missiles go away.
In a series of missile tests, North Korea has been aggressively developing its missile technology.
This gets to the root of the problem: The problem is not THAAD and the United States, it's the North Korean missiles that make them a necessity. He warned that North Korea could only face further global isolation and more economic difficulties. One weakness for cruise missiles is that they usually travel in straight lines as compared to a ballistic missile's arched trajectory.
Tension on the peninsula has been particularly high over the past year because of the North's work on its nuclear and missile programmes.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month ordered his military to develop the missile capability to precisely target enemy vessels at sea, according to North Korean state media. But it has shown no signs of changing its aim to develop a nuclear-tipped missile capable of reaching the USA mainland, insisting that its quest is legitimate and for self-defense purposes.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, however, pledged over the weekend at a major security forum in Singapore that the United States will "increase diplomatic and economic pressure until Pyongyang finally and permanently abandons its nuclear and missile programs".
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