SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea’s latest launches of missiles were short-range and landed well short of past efforts, but they still served as a defiant message that Pyongyang will continue to pursue a weapons program that has rattled neighbors and Washington.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who has expressed a desire to reach out to Pyongyang, said Thursday he “won’t back off even a single step and make any compromise” on the issue of national security. He warned that North Korea could only face further international isolation and more economic difficulties.

South Korea’s military says the projectiles landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, where U.S. aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Ronald Reagan participated in joint exercises with the South Korean navy that ended earlier this week.