North Korea launched around ten short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday at about 12.30pm local time (3.30am GMT) from the Wonsan area, on the country's east coast, towards the East Sea — the Sea of Japan. The information came from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), which did not disclose the missiles' model or how far they flew.
In Tokyo, Japan's Defence Ministry confirmed the launch of a suspected ballistic missile and said it fell outside the country's exclusive economic zone. According to the South Korean command, Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are sharing information on the launches and remain at full readiness.
"Our military has strengthened surveillance and security in preparation for additional launches," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
The landmine in the demilitarised zone
The salvo lands in the middle of a dispute that opened on 21 September, when a landmine blast in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) wounded three South Korean soldiers. An investigation carried out jointly by Seoul and the United Nations (UN) concluded the mines had been planted by the North more than a year earlier.
Pyongyang rejects that finding. In a letter to the UN Security Council it accused South Korea of fabricating the episode. Kim Yo-jong, sister of leader Kim Jong-un and one of the regime's most active voices on relations with Seoul, called the South Korean demand for an apology contemptible and turned down an offer of medical equipment.
Seoul had proposed military talks to restore communication channels with the North — while keeping up its demand for the apology. Whether Pyongyang will accept is unclear.
The diplomatic calendar
The launches came a day after US President Donald Trump suggested he could meet Kim Jong-un later this year. That direct approach between Washington and Pyongyang feeds a worry in Seoul about being left out of any talks on the North Korean nuclear programme.
Kim has held a hard line towards his southern neighbour since 2024, suspending almost all inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation. The pattern of recent years is a familiar one: short-range tests work as low-cost political signalling, aimed both at the South and at whoever is negotiating — and they cross no red line that would force a military response.
With information from Al Jazeera, Kyunghyang Shinmun and South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff.
