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North Korea Fires 10 Short-Range Ballistic Missiles into Sea of Japan

Updated 5:09 AM ET · 4:30 AM ETConfirmed

World Desk

In Short: North Korea launched about 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, escalating tensions with South Korea.

North Korea fired approximately 10 short-range ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The missiles were launched from an area around Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast, reported Al Jazeera and Arabnews.

Al Jazeera and NBC News reported the launch occurred at around 12:30pm local time (03:30 GMT) on Thursday. However, NBC News specified the time as 11:30 p.m. local time, indicating a slight discrepancy in the exact timing.

The JCS stated that the missiles flew approximately 250 kilometers before landing in the sea, with South Korea and the U.S. conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications, as reported by Nknews and Koreatimes.

Al Jazeera and Arabnews noted that South Korea’s military was strengthening surveillance and maintaining readiness in case of additional launches, while closely sharing information with the United States and Japan.

According to Al Jazeera, North Korea’s permanent representative to the UN, Kim Song, accused South Korea of provoking the situation by blaming North Korea for a landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers in the DMZ on September 21.

The joint South Korea-United Nations investigation concluded that North Korea had planted the landmines more than a year ago, with Seoul calling for an apology, reported Al Jazeera and DW.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said the missiles had fallen outside Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency, as reported by DW.

Al Jazeera and DW reported that the latest missile launch came amid rising border tensions with South Korea and uncertainty over potential nuclear talks with the U.S.

South Korea’s presidential National Security Office convened an emergency meeting with defense officials to assess the security implications and determine necessary actions, as reported by Devdiscourse.

The missile launch followed North Korea’s fourth round of weapons testing in less than a week, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attending a meeting, as reported by Stripes.

In response to the missile activity, South Korea’s military detected around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, reported NewsCord.

Japan’s Coast Guard advised nearby vessels to remain cautious and avoid approaching any fallen debris, as reported by The News International.

Background

What's confirmed

• North Korea has fired about 10 short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast into the Sea of Japan, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), less than a week after Seoul proposed talks over a growing border dispute.
• The missiles were launched at about 12:30pm (03:30 GMT) on Thursday from an area around Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast, the JCS said in a statement.
• A joint South Korea-United Nations investigation earlier this month concluded that North Korea had planted the landmines more than a year ago,with Seoul calling for an apology.
• The missiles were launched at around 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT) from an area around Wonsan on North Korea’s eastern coast, the JCS said in a statement.
• South Korea’s military was strengthening surveillance and maintaining readiness in case of additional launches, while closely sharing information with the United States and Japan, it added.
• North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, with the launches occurring around 12:30 p.m. local time from an area around Wonsan.
• According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military detected “around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea”, also known as the Sea of Japan.
• SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Saturday, its neighbors said, a day after the U.S., South Korea and Japan ended their trilateral military drill that North Korea views as a provocation.
• The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Wonsan area at around 5:20 a.m., adding that it is analyzing the exact specifications with the U.S. side.
• The North appears to have fired its Hwasong-11 series of ballistic missiles and rounds from 600-millimeter multiple rocket launchers in successive order across several occasions, sources said.
• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting in this undated photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 10, 2022. (KCNA) North Korea carried out its fourth round of weapons testing in less than a week on Saturday, firing what the South’s military said were two short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast.

What's still developing

• The North Korean permanent representative to the UN, Kim Song, wrote about the “provocation the ROK [Republic of Korea] committed by groundlessly shifting the blame for the dubious ‘mine explosion incident’”, warning that violations of the country’s sovereignty could trigger self-defence.
• Song told the UNSC that South Korea’s claims were a “farce to evade the responsibility for the ever-escalating tensions on the Korean peninsula”.
• Kim met top Chinese Communist Party official Wang Huning and reaffirmed his resolve to develop bilateral cooperation, and Kim said North Korea will firmly carry forward “the invincible” friendship with China.
• President Donald Trump’s decision to scale back a major bilateral military drill with South Korea in a goodwill gesture.

Sources

• Al Jazeeralink
• Arabnewslink
• Asianewslink
• DWlink
• NBC Newslink
• NewsCordlink
• Nknewslink
• The News Internationallink
• Wsvnlink
• Enlink
• Stripeslink
• Devdiscourselink
• Oskaloosalink
• Koreatimeslink
• WarpBeat — background on Iran-backed Houthi rebels strike Yemen's government forces with ballistic missiles, killing at least 53 link
• NewsX Live — video link