North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Wednesday in its second launch event in two days, South Korea’s military said.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles lifted off from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area and flew about 240 kilometres each in a direction toward the North’s eastern waters.
South Korea maintains readiness to repel any provocations, backed by a solid military alliance with the US, the statement said.
Seoul later said Pyongyang fired an additional ballistic missile toward its eastern waters without giving further details.
The South Korean military said it had also detected the launch of an unidentified projectile around North Korea’s capital region on Tuesday. South Korean and US intelligence authorities were analysing details of Tuesday’s launch, according to officials.
South Korean media reported that the previous projectile, also likely a ballistic missile, disappeared from South Korean military radar after exhibiting abnormal behaviour during the initial launch stage. This indicated the launch ended in failure, according to the reports.
The Wednesday launches marked North Korea's fourth and fifth known ballistic missile tests this year, including a salvo of around 10 fired from the Sunan area in March.
Pyongyang's fighting words
The back-to-back launches came after Pyongyang made it clear that it has no intention of improving ties with Seoul, whose government continues to express hopes of restoring long-dormant dialogue.
On Tuesday night, Jang Kum-chol, first vice minister at the North Korean foreign ministry, said South Korea would always remain the North’s “most hostile enemy state." He derided South Korea as “world-startling fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a recent statement by Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
After South Korean President Lee Jae-myung expressed regret over alleged civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo-jong late Monday praised him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to retaliate if such flights recur. South Korean officials responded by describing Kim Yo-jong’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.
Jang said the statement was intended as a warning. He also criticised South Korea for recently co-sponsoring a UN human rights resolution on the North’s purported human rights violations.
North Korea has refused to return to talks with South Korea and the US and pushed to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong-un’s diplomatic relations with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019.
Earlier this week, North Korea said Kim had observed a test of an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons and called it a significant development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal.
Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled before liftoff and cannot last long.
South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.
Experts say North Korea needs multi-warhead missiles to penetrate through US missile defences, but doubt the country has mastered the technology needed to acquire such a weapon.
