North Korea fires two missiles toward East Sea
The launch, Pyongyang's first test in eight days, was quickly followed by a yet-to-be-identified projectile three hours later.
A news report on North Korea’s ballistic missile launches is broadcast at Seoul Station in central Seoul on Sept. 12.
NEWS1
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed Sunday that the unidentified projectile that North Korea fired earlier the same day toward the East Sea was a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), which was followed by another unidentified projectile about three hours later, at around 6 p.m.
“We detected one SRBM launched from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at around 3 p.m.,” the JCS said.
The missile flew about 450 kilometers (280 miles), and South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are conducting a detailed analysis of its specifications.
“Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities tracked and shared related developments from the initial stage of the launch and also shared information on the North Korean ballistic missile with Japan,” the JCS said. “Our military is closely monitoring North Korea’s various activities under the firm South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture while maintaining the capabilities and readiness to overwhelmingly respond to any provocation.”
Military authorities reportedly believe the missile may belong to North Korea’s Hwasong-11 series of SRBMs. The series includes the Hwasong-11A, or KN-23, often described as North Korea’s version of Russia’s Iskander missile, and the Hwasong-11B, or KN-24, often compared with the U.S. Army Tactical Missile System.
The presidential Office of National Security convened for an emergency security review shortly after the launch, attended by officials from relevant agencies including the Ministry of National Defense and the JCS.
The National Security Office said officials reviewed South Korea’s response, analyzed and assessed the launch’s impact on national security and examined any necessary measures. It also instructed relevant agencies to maintain a thorough readiness posture.
The government characterized North Korea’s ballistic missile launch as a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to immediately halt such launches.
Japan’s defense ministry also announced that North Korea launched what appeared to be a ballistic missile at around 3:03 p.m. Sunday. It was the first time since Aug. 20 that the ministry had announced a launch by North Korea of a ballistic missile or an object believed to be one.
Tokyo said the projectile appeared to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to Japanese outlets Kyodo News and NHK. Japanese authorities are also assessing whether the launch had any impact on the country.
The Japan Coast Guard advised vessels at sea to remain alert.
Seoul's JCS also confirmed that another unidentified projectile was launched around 6 p.m., and military authorities are analyzing its type, flight distance and other details.
The confirmed SRBM marks North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch in eight days, following its previous launch on Sept. 12.
North Korea had fired multiple projectiles toward the East Sea, a day after South Korea, the United States and Japan concluded their regular multidomain military exercise, Freedom Edge. The missiles flew about 250 kilometers, according to the Korean military.
Pyongyang said two days later through state media that the launches were part of a firepower strike drill involving a mix of four types of weapons: cruise and ballistic missiles, multiple rocket launchers and drones.
Updated, Sept. 20: Added the Joint Chiefs of Staff’s confirmation that North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday, and another unidentified projectile fired toward the East Sea.
BY KIM JI-YE, HYEON YE-SEUL [[email protected]]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
