South Korea questions North’s claim about new ‘ultra-modern’ weapon after launches

South Korea’s Defense Ministry cast doubt Tuesday on North Korea’s claim that two missiles launched over the weekend tested a new combat weapon featuring what leader Kim Jong Un called “ultra-modern” defense technology.

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, on Sunday, according to the South’s Ministry of National Defense.

The first, a short-range ballistic missile, was fired around 3 p.m., followed about three hours later by a second missile, a ministry spokesman told reporters by text Sunday.

South Korea estimated the first missile flew about 280 miles and the second about 373 miles, the spokesman said. Some South Korean government officials must speak to the media on condition of anonymity.

North Korea, however, released an image through its state-run Korean Central News Agency showing Kim pointing to a monitor that appears to display a flight trajectory of more than 560 miles.

KCNA provided few details about what it called a “new-type weapon,” but said Kim supervised the launches and described the tests as demonstrations of “ultra-modern” defense technology.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervises miissile tests on Sept. 20, 2026, with his daughter, Ju Ae. Kim points to a monitor that appears to display a flight trajectory of more than 560 miles, which far exceeds estimates provided by South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense. (Korean Central News Agency)

Capt. Jang Do-young, a spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South’s military is analyzing the details of Pyongyang’s reports but cautioned that its claims and propaganda cannot be 100% trusted, according to a transcript of the Defense Ministry’s briefing Tuesday.

North Korea is skilled at such strategies and tactics, Jang added.

Photos released Tuesday by the agency also showed Kim’s daughter, Jue Ae, accompanying him during the test.

The new technology would give the enemy “an incurable headache and a very cruel and unavoidable blow,” Kim said, according to KCNA.

The launches were part of regular activities by North Korea’s Missile Administration to advance the country’s national defense policy and had no “adverse impact on the security of neighboring countries,” KCNA said.

The North also fired multiple ballistic missiles on Sept. 12 that it later said were part of a joint firepower attack drill aimed at improving its ability to launch counterattacks.

The latest launches came as senior officials from the United States, South Korea and Japan met in New York on Monday and reaffirmed their commitment to the “complete denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, according to a U.S. State Department news release that day.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the path to dialogue with Pyongyang remains open and called on North Korea to resume talks.

The three officials also pledged to continue working together to promote peace and stability on the peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific, according to the release.