This photo shows the test-firing of a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, provided by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, Jan. 7. Yonhap

North Korea's state media remained silent Wednesday, providing no coverage on the country's launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) the previous day.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and the Rodong Sinmun, the North's daily newspaper for general readers, had not reported on the SRBM launches as of Wednesday morning.

The previous day, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected the missiles launched around 9:30 a.m. from the Ganggye area in the North's Jagang Province, which flew about 250 kilometers before splashing into the sea.

It is rare for North Korea to omit news coverage of an SRBM launch, having previously described such events as firing drills and published photos a day after they took place.

Ganggye is home to North Korea's concentrated missile facilities, although it has rarely been reported as a missile launch site.

The omission of news coverage sparked speculation that the latest launch was a routine drill with little focus on saber-rattling or propaganda, unlike other high-profile North Korean military provocations.

The JCS said the previous day that it was monitoring the possibility of additional missile launches, noting it detected transporter erector launchers for firing missiles near the launch site.

Tuesday's launch marked the North's second ballistic missile firing this year, following the launch of what it claimed to be a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile on Jan. 6. It came just days before Donald Trump's inauguration for his second presidential term next week. (Yonhap)