The launches came four days after South Korea tested a hypersonic missile. Japan said at least two objects likely fell beyond its exclusive economic zone.
At about 9:20 local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detected several launches from an area near Pyongyang.
The missiles traveled more than 900 kilometers toward the East Sea. Japan’s coast guard detected at least two objects and said they appeared to have already fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. South Korean and U.S. authorities continued to analyze their precise characteristics.
The projectiles traveled more than 900 kilometers, according to South Korean military authorities, while Japan assessed that at least two objects fell outside its exclusive economic zone.
The initial South Korean report described only an unidentified object. Later assessments by Japanese and South Korean authorities identified the launches as ballistic missiles.
The episode followed a landmine explosion in the demilitarized zone last month that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul said North Korea had planted the mines and demanded an apology. Pyongyang rejected that demand and accused South Korea of provocation.
The South Korean government and the United States-led multinational force in South Korea also accused North Korea of violating the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953.
Seoul has kept military readiness and diplomatic outreach on the same track.
Last week, President Lee Jae-myung publicly supervised South Korea’s first test launch of a hypersonic missile using a hypersonic glide vehicle. South Korean presidents do not commonly oversee missile tests in such a public manner, making the appearance unusual. A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff representative later said North Korea’s launch was probably a demonstration in response to that test, which took place four days earlier.
The 12 October launch was the first confirmed North Korean missile launch since 3 October. On that earlier occasion, the missile was launched from the Wonsan area, and North Korean state media said the following day that Kim Jong-un had observed a test of a strategic intermediate-range missile linked to a hypersonic system.
Pyongyang had already been ramping up its weapons tests. North Korea last launched a ballistic missile on 3 October. Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of leader Kim Jong-un, said that launch tested an intermediate-range strategic missile. Pyongyang has conducted missile tests on more than ten occasions this year.
Lee Jae-myung took office in mid-2025 and has sought to reduce tensions with Pyongyang. On 1 October, after the landmine dispute began, he urged the restoration of trust and the resumption of dialogue. On Thursday, Kim Yo-jong demanded “maximum respect” from South Korea if it genuinely wanted to restore relations.
South Korean military authorities said they were maintaining heightened readiness for possible additional launches. South Korea exchanged information with the United States and Japan, while no confirmed reports indicated that the missiles entered Japanese territorial waters or its exclusive economic zone.
The launch added pressure to a relationship already strained by the landmine dispute. Seoul is pairing outreach with new military capabilities, while Pyongyang answers with missile activity and statements from Kim Yo-jong.
The armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 remains the agreement cited by both sides.
