North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles days after South Korea's hypersonic test

SEOUL — North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea on Monday morning, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said, in what Seoul described as a show of force following its own successful test of a domestically developed hypersonic missile.

Multiple missiles detected near Pyongyang

The Joint Chiefs said it detected the launches at around 9:20 a.m. local time (0020 GMT). The missiles appeared to be of different types, and one type flew more than 900 kilometers (559 miles), a JCS official told reporters. South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies were conducting a detailed analysis of the missiles' specifications. Japan's coast guard said North Korea had fired two projectiles, believed to be ballistic missiles, that appeared to have already fallen into the sea; Japan's defense ministry separately confirmed at least one suspected ballistic missile launch.

Seoul reads it as a show of force

JCS spokesperson Col. Jang Do-young said the launch appeared to be "a show of force in response to the successful test launch of our hypersonic missile, as well as an intentional demonstration of missile capabilities." The JCS was also weighing whether the launches were meant to demonstrate progress under the North's five-year defense development plan, and analysts were examining whether the missiles were hypersonic or intermediate-range weapons.

South Korean president's rare hypersonic test appearance

Four days earlier, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the country's first test-firing of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle — a rare public showcasing of a missile test by a South Korean president. On Oct. 3, North Korea itself had fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area that flew more than 700 kilometers; state media later said leader Kim Jong Un had supervised a test of a hypersonic intermediate-range missile that flew 1,000 kilometers.

Condemned as a UN resolution violation

Following the launch, South Korea's National Security Office convened an emergency meeting, condemning the launches as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions and urging an immediate halt. North Korea has been under U.N. sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

Fourth launch in a month, DMZ tensions lingering

The launch was Pyongyang's fourth missile test in a month. It also came amid weeks of rising tensions: on Sept. 21, a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone injured three South Korean soldiers, and a joint Seoul-U.N. investigation last week concluded that North Korea had planted the mines, a finding Pyongyang denies. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, criticized Seoul's investigation and its demands for an apology in an Oct. 2 statement and separately rejected an offer of medical equipment from the South.

South Korea's military said it has strengthened surveillance and readiness for possible additional launches, while Seoul, Washington and Tokyo are closely sharing information on the North Korean missiles. Analysts will now be watching whether Pyongyang conducts further launches in the coming days, with the peninsula's missile cycle showing no sign of slowing.