North Korea fires ballistic missiles, one flying over 900 km, days after South Korea's first hypersonic test

North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Monday, 12 October, South Korea’s military said, in what it described as a show of force after Seoul’s first test of a hypersonic missile last week.

What was detected

• South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) detected the launch at about 9:20 a.m. local time from the Pyongyang area. At least one missile flew more than 900 km; the JCS did not say how many were fired.
• Japan’s Ministry of Defence said at least two missiles were launched 17 minutes apart. The first reached an altitude of about 20 km and flew about 220 km; the second climbed to about 70 km and flew more than 910 km. Japan, the US and South Korea are analysing whether it followed an irregular trajectory, which could indicate a hypersonic weapon.
• Both missiles fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and there were no immediate reports of damage.

Reactions

JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young said the launch appeared to be a protest against South Korea’s successful test of a hypersonic glide vehicle, which President Lee Jae Myung oversaw on Thursday, and a deliberate display of the North’s missile capabilities. South Korea’s foreign ministry called it “a grave act” that violates UN Security Council resolutions.

Japan’s parliamentary vice defence minister Takashi Koyari said Tokyo had lodged a stern protest through its embassy channel in Beijing.

The launch follows a North Korean ballistic missile test from the Wonsan area on 3 October, which state media described as an intermediate-range strategic missile. The North last fired ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area on 20 August.