SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbors said, after a U.N. nuclear watchdog warned North Korea was making “very serious” progress in its efforts to build nuclear weapons.
The missiles, fired from the North’s Sinpo region, flew about 140 kilometers (87 miles) in each direction toward the country’s eastern waters, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. South Korea has said that it is ready to prevent any provocation by North Korea and is closely exchanging information with the US and Japan.
At an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, senior South Korean officials expressed concern over North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile tests and called for an immediate halt. Sunday’s launch came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae-myung left the country to visit India and Vietnam.
US and Japanese forces also said they had detected the missile. The US Indo-Pacific Command said it remains committed to the defense of the US homeland and allies in the region. Japan’s defense ministry said Tokyo strongly opposed Pyongyang and said the launch threatened regional and international peace and violated UN Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic activity by North Korea.
Sinpo, the launch site, is a city on the east coast of North Korea where its main shipyard is used to build submarines.
South Korea’s military was analyzing whether the latest launches were from submarines, land-based launchers or both platforms, according to South Korean media. Asked where the missiles were launched from, Japanese Deputy Defense Minister Masahisa Miyazaki told reporters that Japan was analyzing the launch details in coordination with the US and South Korea.
If the launch involves a submarine, it would mark North Korea’s first submarine-launched ballistic missile test in four years.
North Korea acquiring the ability to launch missiles from underwater would be a worrying development because it is difficult for its adversaries to detect such launches in advance. Last year, North Korea unveiled a nuclear submarine under construction for the first time.
Sunday’s launch was the latest of North Korea’s weapons tests this year.
Last week, North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un had overseen a missile test from the country’s destroyer. Last week, North Korea said it conducted three days of test activities to test ballistic missiles armed with cluster-bomb warheads and other new weapons systems. Last month, it said it had tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine for missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.
Kim has focused on expanding his nuclear and missile arsenal since his high-profile nuclear diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Trump has repeatedly expressed a desire to restore diplomacy with Kim, and the North Korean leader has recently kept the door open to talks with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for the North’s nuclear talks.
Trump will visit Beijing in May for a rescheduled summit with Xi Jinping. Some observers say North Korea’s recent testing activities are likely to increase its leverage in future dealings with the US, as the Trump-Xi meeting could provide a diplomatic opening with Pyongyang.
On Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said his agency had confirmed a “rapid increase” in activities at nuclear production facilities in North Korea. Grossi told reporters in Seoul that North Korea’s activity indicates a “very serious increase” in its nuclear weapons production capability.
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 sites. Last September, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-yong said North Korea was operating four uranium enrichment facilities and that they were operating daily.
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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.
