NAIROBI, Kenya – North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its eastern coast on Thursday, prompting heightened monitoring by South Korea and renewed attention to Pyongyang’s expanding weapons testing programme.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches were detected at about 12:30 p.m. local time near the North Korean coastal city of Wonsan. The military said it was analysing the missiles’ flight characteristics while strengthening surveillance against possible further launches.
Japan’s Defence Ministry and Coast Guard also reported detecting a suspected ballistic missile launch, with the projectile believed to have landed in the sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
The latest launch adds to a series of weapons tests conducted by Pyongyang this year, amid persistent tensions between the two Koreas and concerns over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.
Launch Follows October Missile Tests
North Korea’s previous reported ballistic missile launches occurred on October 12, when South Korea said Pyongyang fired multiple missiles towards the East Sea, also known internationally as the Sea of Japan.
Those launches followed South Korea’s test-firing of a hypersonic weapon and came amid tensions over a landmine explosion near the inter-Korean border that injured South Korean soldiers in September.
North Korea’s October 12 tests were interpreted by South Korean officials as a possible demonstration of military capabilities in response to Seoul’s weapons development. Pyongyang has not publicly confirmed that Thursday’s launch was connected to those developments.
The latest incident comes as both countries continue to monitor military activity along the heavily fortified border and maintain competing weapons development programmes.
South Korea, Japan Step Up Monitoring
South Korea’s military said it was maintaining readiness and sharing information with the United States and Japan as it assessed the latest launches.
The Japanese authorities reported that the suspected missile had fallen into the sea, with no immediate reports of damage to aircraft or vessels associated with the launch.
The exact technical specifications of the missiles, including their range, speed and altitude, were still being assessed in the initial reports. Authorities had not indicated that the launches posed an immediate direct threat to Japanese territory.
North Korea Remains Under UN Sanctions
North Korea has been subject to United Nations sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes. The restrictions have expanded over the years in response to further weapons development and nuclear tests.
Despite the sanctions, Pyongyang has continued to test a range of missile systems, describing its weapons programme as necessary for national defence. South Korea, the United States and Japan regard North Korea’s ballistic missile activity as a security concern and regularly coordinate monitoring and readiness measures.
The South Korean military has not yet released a complete technical assessment of the missiles fired on Thursday.
