North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles; one flies more than 900 km

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area towards the sea off its east coast on Monday, South Korea's military said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said one missile travelled more than 900 km. Japan's Deputy Defence Minister Takashi Koyari said at least two missiles were launched 17 minutes apart. The first flew about 220 km and the second more than 910 km, on what he described as an irregular trajectory, suggesting it could have been a hypersonic weapon. Both landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Seoul calls launch a violation

South Korea's presidential office said the repeated launches violated UN Security Council resolutions and urged Pyongyang to stop immediately. A military spokesperson described the launch as a show of force.

A tense few weeks

The launch came days after South Korea tested its own hypersonic missile, a test overseen by President Lee Jae Myung. On October 3, North Korea tested a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade regional missile defences.

Tensions have also risen since a landmine blast in the Demilitarized Zone last month wounded three South Korean soldiers. A joint South Korean and UN investigation concluded the mines had been planted by the North, which Pyongyang denies.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has continued to expand the country's nuclear and missile programmes and has rejected offers from Washington and Seoul to resume talks, which broke down in 2019.