SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog warned it was making “very serious” progress toward building nuclear weapons.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles launched from North Korea’s Sinpo region each flew about 140 kilometers (87 miles) toward the country’s eastern waters. The statement said South Korea stands ready to counter any provocation by North Korea and closely exchanges information with the United States and Japan.
At an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, senior South Korean officials expressed concern about North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile tests and urged North Korea to immediately stop such tests. Sunday’s press conference came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae-myung left the country for a visit to India and Vietnam.
The U.S. and Japanese militaries also said they detected the launch. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it remains committed to defending the U.S. homeland and its allies in the region. Japan’s Defense Ministry said Tokyo lodged a strong protest with Pyongyang, saying the launches threatened regional and international peace and violated U.N. Security Council resolutions banning North Korea from conducting any ballistic activities.
The launch site is Sinpo, a city on North Korea’s eastern coast that has a major shipyard for building submarines.
According to South Korean media reports, the South Korean military is analyzing whether the latest launch was carried out from a submarine, a land-based launcher or both platforms. When asked about the location of the missile launch, Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Masahisa Miyazaki told reporters that Japan was coordinating with the United States and South Korea to analyze the launch details.
If the launch involved a submarine, it would mark North Korea’s first test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in four years.
North Korea acquiring a greater ability to launch missiles from underwater would be a worrying development, as it would be difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance. Last year, North Korea showed off for the first time the nuclear-powered submarine it was building.
Sunday’s launch was the latest in a series of weapons tests by North Korea this year.
North Korea said last week that leader Kim Jong Un oversaw missile tests by its destroyers. Last week, North Korea said it conducted a three-day test campaign to inspect ballistic missiles equipped with cluster bomb warheads and other new weapons systems. Last month, the company said it tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine for use in missiles capable of reaching the continental United States.
Since the collapse of high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, Kim Jong Un has focused on expanding his nuclear and missile arsenals. Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to restore diplomatic ties with Kim, and the North Korean leader has recently opened the door to dialogue with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament as a prerequisite for talks.
Trump will travel to Beijing in May for a rescheduled summit with Xi Jinping. Some observers believe North Korea’s recent testing activities may be an attempt to increase its leverage in future dealings with the United States, as the Trump-Xi meeting could provide a diplomatic opportunity with Pyongyang.
On Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency had confirmed a “rapid increase” in activity at North Korea’s nuclear manufacturing facilities. Grossi told reporters in Seoul that North Korea’s activities showed that its nuclear weapons production capabilities were “very serious.”
His comments echoed the view of many outside observers that North Korea has taken steps in recent years to expand its main Yongbyon nuclear complex and build more uranium enrichment facilities. Last September, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said North Korea was operating four uranium enrichment facilities and that they were operating every day.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.