North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, according to its neighbours, just hours before South Korea’s president was due to leave for talks in China expected to focus on Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said the launches were detected at about 7.50am local time from the North’s capital region. The missiles travelled roughly 900km (560 miles), the military said.
South Korean and US authorities are analysing details of the launches, while maintaining what the joint chiefs described as a “full readiness posture”. Seoul said it was also sharing information closely with Japan.
An emergency meeting of South Korea’s national security council was convened shortly afterwards. A statement from the presidential office said the launch “constitutes a provocative act in violation of UN security council resolutions”.
Japan’s defence ministry also reported detecting a possible ballistic missile launch. It said two missiles reached an altitude of about 50,000 metres and flew distances of 560 and 590 miles respectively.
Japan’s defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, said North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes “threaten the peace and stability of our country and the international community” and were “absolutely intolerable”.
The launch was Pyongyang’s first ballistic missile test since November. That test followed approval by US president Donald Trump for South Korea’s plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.
One analyst suggested the timing of Sunday’s launch may have been influenced by Trump’s military operation against Venezuela a day earlier.
North Korea has long argued that its nuclear and missile programmes are necessary to deter what it describes as US-led attempts at regime change. Washington has repeatedly said it has no such intentions.
Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Pyongyang likely fears the United States could launch a precision strike at any time, threatening the regime’s survival.
The test came shortly before South Korean president Lee Jae Myung was due to depart for Beijing for talks with China’s president, Xi Jinping. China is North Korea’s main economic backer.
Lee is expected to urge Beijing to use its influence over Pyongyang as part of his effort to improve inter-Korean relations.
North Korea is also preparing for a major congress of its ruling party in the coming weeks, its first in five years. Economic policy, defence and military planning are expected to dominate discussions.
Ahead of the meeting, the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has ordered an expansion and modernisation of missile production. State media said he recently visited a facility producing tactical guided weapons.
Kim instructed officials to increase production capacity by 250%, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
