North Korea launches short-range ballistic missiles for second time this week

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea and Japan said, days after Pyongyang unveiled a uranium enrichment facility and vowed to expand its nuclear arsenal.

The missiles were launched from Kaechon, north of the capital, Pyongyang, around 6:50 a.m. (2150 GMT Tuesday), in a northeast direction and flew about 400 kilometers (249 miles), according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The JCS did not specify how many missiles were fired or where they landed.

"We strongly condemn North Korea's missile launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula," the JCS said in a statement, pledging overwhelming responses to any further provocations.

About 30 minutes after the first missile was reported, Japan's coast guard said North Korea fired another ballistic missile. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at least one of the missiles fell near North Korea's eastern inland coast, adding that the launches "cannot be tolerated."

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on X (formerly Twitter) that it was aware of the launches and was consulting closely with Seoul and Tokyo.

Last Thursday, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles, the first such launch in more than two months. The country later described the launches as tests of a new 600-mm multiple launch rocket system.

South Korea's JCS suggested the launches could have been intended to test weapons for export to Russia, amid growing military cooperation between the two countries.

The United States, South Korea, and Ukraine, among other nations, have accused Pyongyang of supplying rockets and missiles to Moscow for use in the war in Ukraine, in exchange for economic and military assistance.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who is visiting Russia this week, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday to discuss ways to promote bilateral ties, according to a statement on the Russian foreign ministry's website.

Wednesday's missile launches came just days after North Korea released images of centrifuges used to produce fuel for its nuclear weapons. During a visit to a uranium enrichment facility, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for the production of more weapons-grade material to boost the country’s nuclear arsenal.

Reuters