North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Towards East Sea
NORTH KOREA – The South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Sunday Jan. 4, that North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the East Sea.
The JCS said that the missiles traveled nearly 900 kilometers (nearly 539 miles) and landed in the sea, but did not immediately provide additional details regarding the types of missiles.
South Korea’s Office of National Security at the presidential office convened an emergency meeting, led by Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Jong-deuk, alongside officials from the Defense Ministry and the JCS.
“North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles constitutes a provocative act in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, and we urge the North to cease such actions,” the National Security Office said in a statement.
It marked the first ballistic missile test by Pyongyang since Nov. 7, 2025, when a similar projectile was launched into the same body of water.
“Our military is maintaining a readiness posture while closely monitoring the situation,” the JCS said in a brief statement, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.
The South Korean military said it is cooperating with US forces to assess the launch and determine its implications for regional security.
Reacting to the launch, the US military’s Indo-Pacific Command struck a measured tone, saying it was aware of the development, but it “does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies.”
“The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region,” it said in a post on US social media company X.
Separately, the Japanese Defense Ministry said North Korea launched at least two ballistic missiles eastward that apparently fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, according to Kyodo News.
The missiles were launched from North Korea’s west coast, with both reaching a maximum altitude of around 50 kilometers and flying about 900 km and 950 km (590 miles), respectively, the Defense Ministry said.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said that Tokyo has strongly protested to Pyongyang over the launch, saying the nation’s actions, including previous missile launches, “threaten the peace and security” of Japan, the region and the international community.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi directed officials to collect and share key information quickly, while ensuring the safety of vessels and planes and preparing for potential contingencies, according to her office.
Separately, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday inspected the production of tactical guided weapons at a munitions factory, instructing officials to expand production capacity, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.
