South Korea and the United States fired eight surface-to-surface missiles early on Monday off South Korea’s east coast in response to North Korea’s short-range ballistic missile launches on Sunday, the South’s Yonhap news agency reported on Monday.

The action is a demonstration of “the capability and readiness to carry out precision strike” against the source of North Korea’s missile launches or the command and support centers, Yonhap cited the South Korean military as saying.