North Korea launches missiles in second test of year
South Korea said the weapons were fired from a northern inland area and were suspected to be short-range ballistic missiles.
North Korea has test-fired multiple missiles toward its eastern waters, South Korea’s military said, as it continued its weapons demonstrations ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons were fired from a northern inland area and were suspected to be short-range ballistic missiles.
It was not immediately clear how far the weapon flew.
The joint chiefs said the South Korean military has strengthened surveillance while sharing the launch information with the US and Japanese militaries.
It was North Korea’s second launch event of 2025, following a ballistic launch last week.
North Korea said the January 6 test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations.
The systems it demonstrated in 2024 included solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the US mainland and various shorter-range missiles designed to overwhelm missile defences in South Korea.
There are concerns its military capabilities could advance further through technology transfers from Russia as the two countries align over the war in Ukraine.
At a year-end political conference, Mr Kim vowed to implement the “toughest” anti-US policy and criticised the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as a “nuclear military bloc for aggression.”
North Korean state media did not specify Mr Kim’s policy plans or mention any specific comments about Mr Trump.
During his first term as president, Mr Trump met Mr Kim three times for talks on the North’s nuclear programme.
