North Korea Fires New Missile Warning at US and Allies

North Korea has fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles over the Sea of Japan.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday’s launch was the North’s first since March 10 and might have been staged to showcase the weapon for potential foreign buyers.

Newsweek contacted the North Korean Embassy in China for comment by email.

Why It Matters

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are at their highest point in decades. Kim Jong Un’s regime has cut all official communications with the South, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK)—now enshrined in the North’s constitution as a “hostile state”—and has doubled down on its United Nations-sanctioned missile and nuclear weapons programs.

The launch follows Pyongyang’s first admission that it sent thousands of troops to fight alongside Russian forces on the Ukrainian front. These deployments—in addition to the North’s provision of munitions, missiles and other military equipment to Russia—have further alarmed South Korea, a U.S. defense treaty ally.

What To Know

The missiles were launched from the area around Wonsan, an eastern port city, between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said, with one missile traveling as far as 800 kilometers (497 miles).

The exact number of missiles fired was not confirmed, but Joint Chiefs spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said the launches likely involved a vehicle-mounted short-range ballistic missile system modeled on Russia’s Iskander design, as well as large-caliber rocket artillery platforms.

During a briefing, Lee said the launches could have been to test the performance of weapons that North Korea, officially the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), planned to export.

Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani said Tokyo had “sternly protested and strongly condemned” the launches through the North Korean Embassy in Beijing.

The missiles had not reached Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and there was no damage to aircraft or vessels in the area, he told the press.

What People Are Saying

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement: “The United States condemns these actions and calls on the DPRK to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts. While we have assessed that this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel, or territory, or to our allies, we continue to monitor the situation. The U.S. commitments to the defense of the ROK and Japan remain ironclad.”

What Happens Next

Russia and North Korea’s deepening military ties have fueled concerns that Moscow is providing Pyongyang with advanced weapons technology and nuclear expertise in exchange for arms shipments.

This story includes reporting by the Associated Press.