North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea’s military said, marking Pyongyang’s fourth launch in a month and its latest show of force after Seoul’s first test of a homegrown hypersonic missile.
The launches were detected at around 9:20 a.m. local time (00:20 GMT) from the Pyongyang area, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The missiles appeared to be of different types, with at least one travelling more than 900 kilometres. Earlier, Japan’s coast guard said North Korea had fired two unidentified projectiles believed to be ballistic missiles, which appeared to have already fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting a detailed analysis of the missiles’ specifications, the JCS said.
Seen as a response to Seoul’s hypersonic test
A Joint Chiefs spokesperson described Monday’s launches as “a show of force in response to the successful test launch of our hypersonic missile, as well as an intentional demonstration of missile capabilities”, Reuters reported. Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the country’s first test-firing of a hypersonic missile — a rare public showcasing of a missile test by a South Korean president. South Korea’s National Security Office convened an emergency meeting and condemned the launches as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions, which have banned North Korean ballistic missile activity since 2006. Missile launches have punctuated regional crises before: Houthi forces fired a missile at Riyadh airport earlier this month, killing three people.
Rising tensions after a border mine blast
The launches come amid weeks of rising tensions. A landmine explosion near the demilitarised zone in September wounded three South Korean soldiers; Seoul said North Korean troops had planted the mines and demanded an apology, while Pyongyang denied responsibility and accused the South of provocation. The North last fired a ballistic missile on 3 October, with state media saying it was a hypersonic test supervised by leader Kim Jong Un.
His powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, has in recent days dismissed Seoul’s calls to lower tensions as a “climax of a farce”. North Korea has conducted missile tests on more than 10 occasions this year, as political standoffs deepen across the region alongside Pakistan’s imposition of emergency rule in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
South Korea, the United States and Japan are closely sharing information on the launches, and Seoul says it has strengthened surveillance and readiness for possible additional tests. South Korean media report the launches were also intended to demonstrate progress under Pyongyang’s five-year defence development plan.
