North Korea Fires Multiple Ballistic Missiles After Seoul’s Hypersonic Weapon Test

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its eastern coast on Monday, October 12, following South Korea’s first test of a domestically developed hypersonic weapon. South Korea’s military said at least one missile travelled more than 900 kilometres (559 miles), while Japan detected two suspected ballistic missiles. The launches came amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula and a prolonged freeze in diplomatic engagement.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missiles were launched from an area near Pyongyang. The military did not immediately specify the total number of missiles detected. Japan’s defence authorities said at least two projectiles were identified and assessed to be ballistic missiles that landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. South Korean officials were analysing the launches to determine the weapons’ precise characteristics.

The launches followed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s observation of the country’s first test-firing of a domestically developed hypersonic weapon on October 8. Designed to travel at least five times the speed of sound, such weapons can manoeuvre at high speeds, potentially making them more difficult for missile defence systems to intercept. Seoul said the weapon, once fully developed, would strengthen its ability to strike key targets on the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea had also tested what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile on October 3. Pyongyang said the weapon was designed to evade missile defences in South Korea and Japan. The latest launches add to a series of missile tests, live-fire drills and other military activities as leader Kim Jong Un continues to expand the country's nuclear-capable arsenal.

South Korea’s presidential office condemned Monday’s launches as violations of United Nations Security Council resolutions and called on Pyongyang to stop such activities. The developments have complicated Lee’s efforts to improve relations with the North while strengthening Seoul’s conventional military capabilities.

Tensions have also risen following landmine explosions near the heavily fortified inter-Korean border in September that injured three South Korean soldiers. A joint South Korean-United Nations Command investigation attributed the blasts to mines allegedly planted by North Korean forces, but Pyongyang denied responsibility.