US and North Korea weirdly fired off missiles at almost the same time

North Korea fired off two suspected short-range missiles May 9, 2019, marking the second time in a week the country has done so after more than a year without a missile launch.

The unidentified weapons were launched from Kusong at 4:29 pm and 4:39 pm (local time) and flew 420 km and 270 km respectively, according to South Korea's semi-official Yonhap News Agency reported.

They splashed down in the East Sea afterwards, the agency said.

May 9, 2019's test comes on the heels of another test conducted May 4, 2019 (local time). During an impromptu exercise, North Korean troops fired off rocket artillery, as well as a new short-range ballistic missile that some observers have compared to Russia's Iskander missile.

Before last May 4, 2019's "strike drill," North Korea had not launched a missile since it tested the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2017.

An unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operational test at 12:03 a.m., PDT, April 26, 2019, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

(US Air Force photo by Senior Airman Ian Dudley)

The self-imposed freeze has long been perceived as a sign of good faith as Pyongyang negotiated with Washington and Seoul, negotiations that have hit several unfortunate speed bumps.

Interestingly, at almost the exact same time as North Korea was launching its missiles May 9, 2019, the US troops almost 6,000 miles away were doing the same thing, just with a much bigger missile.

At 12:40 am (local time) May 9, 2019, a US Air Force Global Strike Command team launched an unarmed Minuteman III ICBM from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The unarmed ICBM flew over 4,000 miles.

Air Force officials told Fox News that the timing of the American and North Korean launches was a coincidence.

May 9, 2019's Minuteman III ICBM test marks the second time in just over a week the US has tested one of its missiles, launching the weapon into the Pacific.

This article originally appeared on Business Insider. Follow @BusinessInsider on Twitter.