North Korea today fired two unidentified ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea in the two Koreas), in what is a new response to the great spring maneuvers that are being carried out these days in the South of the Seoul Peninsula and Washington.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) confirmed in a statement that the two launches had occurred from Junghwa county, in the province of North Hwanghae (southwest of the country) around 07:47 local time (22:47 GMT on Sunday).

This is the eleventh launch made this year by North Korea, half of them made to replicate South Korea and the US, which these days are carrying out their largest joint military maneuvers since 2018.

The allies ended their Freedom shield command post exercise (CPX) last Thursday, but are still holding drills that correspond to the Warrior shield ground troop exercises (FTX).

As part of the latter, last week South Korea and the US mobilized F-35, F-15, F-16 and F-4 stealth fighters and also an A-10 attack aircraft for a series of maneuvers in which they fired air-to-air missiles and dropped air-to-ground bombs.

In addition, in the coming days a US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is expected to join the exercises in southern waters of the peninsula.

The latest North Korean weapons test comes after Pyongyang reported last Friday that it recently tested an underwater drone capable of generating radioactive tsunamis, as the Russian Poseidon system does.

Although many analysts doubt that Kim Jong-un's regime has been able to develop such a sophisticated weapon in a short time, the announcement is a new gesture of weight from Pyongyang, which has sophisticated and diversified its arsenal in the last five years.

The peninsula is experiencing a historic level of tension after a 2022 in which North Korea, which has rejected offers to return to dialogue, carried out a record number of weapons tests and in which the allies returned to carry out large maneuvers and deploy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers or strategic bombers on the peninsula.

According to The Trust Project criteria

Learn more

  • North Korea
  • South Korea
  • Asia