North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises a cruise missile test in this image issued by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 26, 2025. (KCNA)
North Korea fired an unspecified number of short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast Thursday morning, possibly to test their capabilities ahead of potential exports, according to the South’s military.
The missiles were launched from Wonsan, a city about 90 miles east of Pyongyang, between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m., the Ministry of National Defense told reporters via text message. They flew roughly 500 miles before splashing into the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
U.S., South Korean and Japanese intelligence agencies are analyzing the launches and have shared data on the missiles’ specifications, the ministry said. North Korea’s launch preparations had been detected in advance, it added.
“We strongly condemn North Korea’s missile launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry said.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the weapons posed no immediate threat to the United States or its allies.
Washington’s “commitments to the defense of [South Korea] and Japan remain ironclad,” a command statement said. “The United States condemns these actions and calls on [North Korea] to refrain from further unlawful and destabilizing acts.”
The episode marks North Korea’s first ballistic missile testing since March 10, when it fired several missiles off its western coast during the start of Freedom Shield, an annual joint military exercise involving the U.S. and South Korea.
The launches may have been conducted to verify missile performance before possible overseas exports, South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Lee Sung Joon said at a news conference in Seoul. He did not say where the missiles might be sent.
The United States and South Korean intelligence agencies accuse the North of supplying lethal aid to Russia during its three-year invasion of Ukraine. This includes troops, long-range artillery systems, artillery shells, and short-range ballistic missiles.
Washington and Seoul also suspect Pyongyang of exporting ballistic missile components and technology to other countries, including Pakistan, Syria and Iran, in the 1980s and 1990s.
North Korea made several displays of military prowess in the weeks leading up to its latest missile barrage.
On Wednesday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported that the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, had ordered munitions factories to boost artillery shell production and that the regime was producing them four times its annual rate.
Kim also showcased a new, 5,000-ton destroyer during an April 25 launch ceremony at the Nampo shipping port on the country’s western coast, KCNA reported at the time. The destroyer is the largest warship produced by the North and could be armed with cruise and ballistic missiles, KCNA added.
Stars and Stripes reporter Yoojin Lee contributed to this report.
