South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launch took place Sunday morning from the Sinpo area, an eastern coastal location that houses a major North Korean shipyard used for submarine construction. South Korea’s military announced that it had strengthened its surveillance operations and maintained close communications with both the US and Japan.
South Korea’s presidential office revealed that its National Security Council intended to hold an emergency meeting to address the launches.
Japan’s Defense Ministry also detected launches and said the missiles were believed to have hit waters off North Korea’s east coast.
Tokyo lodged a strong protest with Pyongyang, saying Sunday’s launches threatened regional and international stability and were a direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from conducting any ballistic activities.
Last week, North Korea announced that leader Kim Jong Un had monitored missile tests from the country’s destroyers. A week earlier, North Korea claimed it had conducted a three-day test to evaluate ballistic missiles equipped with cluster-bomb warheads along with other new weapons systems.
Last month, it said it had tested an advanced solid-fuel engine for missiles capable of striking the US mainland.
Since his high-risk nuclear diplomacy with the US President donald trump After the fall in 2019, Kim has focused on enhancing his nuclear and missile capabilities.
Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to revive diplomatic ties with Kim, and the North Korean leader recently left the door open to talks with Trump while urging Washington to drop its demands for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for talks.
On Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed a “rapid increase” in activities at nuclear manufacturing facilities in North Korea. Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Grossi said the activities in North Korea point to a “very serious increase” in its nuclear weapons production capabilities.
His comments reinforced the widely held view among outside observers that North Korea has taken significant steps in recent years to expand its key Yongbyon nuclear complex and build additional uranium-enrichment sites.
Last September, South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young revealed that North Korea was operating four uranium enrichment facilities, all of which were running on a daily basis.
