North Korea tests ballistic missiles

(Seoul) North Korea on Wednesday tested several ballistic missiles toward its eastern seas, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, adding to its military displays as tensions with Washington and its neighbors escalate.

The launches come days after North Korea offered a rare view of a secret facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs, as leader Kim Jong-un called for a rapid expansion of its nuclear weapons program.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected North Korea firing several short-range ballistic missiles from north of its capital, Pyongyang, and said they traveled about 400 kilometers (250 miles) as they flew northeast.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said they were communicating closely with the United States and Japan as they analyzed the launches, but did not immediately provide further details about the flights.

Japan’s Defense Ministry said it had detected at least two launches, but did not immediately say what type of missiles they were or how far they flew.

The Japanese coast guard said the missiles may have already landed in waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and urged ships to watch out for objects that could fall. Japanese broadcaster NHK said the missiles may have landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned the launches as a provocation that “seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” They said in a statement that the South Korean and U.S. militaries were closely monitoring North Korean activities while maintaining a combined defense posture “to respond massively to any provocation.”

North Korea did not immediately confirm the launches. They followed a previous round of ballistic missile tests last week, with Kim Jong-un vowing that his nuclear force would be fully prepared to confront its rivals.

The North said the September 12 launches involved its 600mm “super-large” multiple rocket launchers, which it describes as capable of carrying tactical nuclear warheads. Experts say North Korea’s large artillery rockets blur the line between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during launch.

Since 2022, North Korea has stepped up weapons testing activities to expand and modernize its nuclear missile arsenal targeting the United States and South Korea. The allies have expanded their combined military exercises and are updating their nuclear deterrence strategies by relying on U.S. assets to counter the North’s growing threat.

Analysts say Kim Jong-un’s long-term goal is to force the United States to accept the idea that the North is a nuclear power and to negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

In revealing the uranium enrichment plant last week, the North Korean leader called for greater efforts to “exponentially” increase the number of nuclear weapons in the face of what he described as U.S. threats. State media published photos showing Kim Jong-un talking with military officials and scientists among long, isolated lines of centrifuges used to produce weapons-grade uranium, but the reports did not specify where the plant was located or when Kim Jong-un visited.

Analysts say North Korea could conduct a nuclear test explosion or a long-range missile test before the November U.S. presidential election in a bid to influence the outcome and increase its leverage in future relations with the new U.S. administration.