North Korea launches two missiles in the Sea of Japan
North Korea launched a ballistic missile and an unidentified projectile off its eastern coast on Sunday, according to Seoul.
The South Korean military announced that Pyongyang fired a ballistic missile off its eastern coast, traveling approximately 450 kilometers, just days after Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state.
Hours later, the South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted the military as saying that North Korea “launched another unidentified projectile toward the East Sea,” also known as the “Sea of Japan.”
The launches came eight days after North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, in what it later described as a joint firepower training exercise.
The move also followed Pyongyang’s rejection this week of a resolution issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) renewing calls for it to halt its nuclear activities.
In a statement, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “The military observed a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area in North Korea toward the East Sea at around 3:00 p.m. (06:00 GMT).”
The statement noted that the observed missile traveled approximately 450 kilometers, and that South Korean and American authorities are conducting a detailed analysis to determine its precise specifications.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary’s office confirmed the launch, noting via the X platform that the projectile was “likely a ballistic missile.”
Japan’s Ministry of Defense later stated that the projectile “has already fallen,” without providing further details.
Following the missile launch, South Korea’s National Security Council held an emergency security meeting to review Seoul’s response and assess the implications for national security, according to the presidential office.
The government called on Pyongyang for an “immediate halt” to ballistic missile launches, describing the latest development as a “serious act” violating United Nations Security Council resolutions.
During the launch operation on September 12, Pyongyang conducted a “firepower attack training” involving artillery and long-range missiles, according to state media, which claimed the targets were hit with “100% accuracy.”
North Korea had accused “hostile forces” of seeking to curb its nuclear program during the IAEA General Conference held this week.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the agency’s resolution “has no impact on the status of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea as a nuclear-armed state.”
The spokesperson added that the North’s status as a nuclear power is “guaranteed by the strength of actual nuclear deterrence” and is “permanently and irrevocably established under the supreme law of the state.”
Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, recently stated that her country’s status as a nuclear-armed state is “absolute,” and described those calling for its denuclearization as “fools.”
U.S. President Donald Trump stated in August that Pyongyang possesses 57 “very strong” nuclear weapons, while Seoul estimates the number to be between 80 and 120.
