North Korea fired five short-range ballistic missiles into its eastern sea Thursday, in what South Korea described as a “clear act of provocation.”
According to Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launches may have been designed to test the performance of weapons that North Korea intends to sell as it continues to supply military equipment and troops to fuel Russia’s conflict against Ukraine.
Multiple missiles were launched from a region near North Korea’s eastern port city of Wonsan between 8:10 and 9:20 a.m. local time Thursday, with the furthest going approximately 497 miles.
Mr. Lee said the tests likely involved a short-range ballistic missile system launched from vehicles — possibly modelled after Russia’s Iskander missile — and also large-caliber rocket artillery systems.
The Joint Chiefs said South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities detected the launch preparations in advance and tracked the missiles after they were launched.
It issued a statement denouncing the launches as a “clear act of provocation” that threatens peace and stability in the region, according to the Associated Press.
South Korean military officials are now analysing whether the tests were linked to the North’s weapons exports to Russia.
In early March, North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea just hours after South Korea and the United States kicked off their first major joint military exercise of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Those launches come after South Korean and U.S. forces began their annual Freedom Shield exercise.
After denying its war involvement for months, North Korea last month confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia in recapturing parts of the Kursk region, which had fallen to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year.
