North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards its eastern waters on Monday, South Korea’s military said, in the latest weapons demonstration by Pyongyang amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy.
The missiles were launched from an area around the North Korean capital, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The military did not immediately say how many weapons were detected or how far they travelled.
Japan’s Defence Ministry said it had detected at least two missiles and assessed that they landed outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The launch came days after South Korea flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon. The system is designed to travel at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defence systems.
President Lee Jae Myung described the test as an important step towards strengthening South Korea’s conventional defence capabilities. His administration has favoured engagement with North Korea while also seeking to reduce Seoul’s reliance on the United States.
North Korea has continued to expand its weapons programme, including systems capable of carrying nuclear warheads. On October 3, it tested what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile intended to evade missile defences in South Korea and Japan.
The country has also held further missile tests and live-fire drills, and commissioned a new warship as leader Kim Jong Un continues to promote North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Pyongyang has rejected US and South Korean proposals to restart negotiations.
Tensions were aggravated last month when three South Korean soldiers were injured in landmine explosions near the heavily armed border. South Korea’s military and the US-led United Nations Command concluded that the devices had been planted by North Korea, which has denied responsibility and dismissed demands for an apology.
Kim has halted diplomacy and co-operation with Seoul in recent years, describing South Korea as a permanent enemy. Nuclear negotiations with Washington have also remained deadlocked since breaking down in 2019, with North Korea demanding an end to what it calls the US’s hostile policy and rejecting denuclearisation as a precondition for talks.
President Donald Trump has called for diplomacy to resume, but Kim’s government has so far rebuffed those efforts. Washington also unilaterally scaled back a major military exercise with South Korea in August, with Mr Trump citing his “very good relationship” with Kim.
