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North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Monday morning local time, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. The launches were intended to serve as a challenge to South Korea, according to the military. The missiles were launched from the area of Pyongyang and one of the missiles traveled over 900 kilometers, according to Yonhap.
Japan’s Defense Ministry has also confirmed that two missiles were launched by North Korea on Monday, with one traveling 220 kilometers and the other traveling more than 910 kilometers on an “irregular” trajectory which has led to speculation that the latter may be a hypersonic missile. However, the South Korean military has said it needs more time to analyze the launch and has not yet confirmed whether the missiles were hypersonic or intermediate-range. There have been no reports of damage or injury.
Monday’s test appears to have been launched in reaction to South Korea’s first test of a locally-developed hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) on Thursday, which was overseen by President Lee Jae Myung. The JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young said that the North’s test appeared to be a protest and a way to demonstrate what the North has achieved in implementing its 5-year defense plan.
In another development, the North fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area on Oct. 3. Pyongyang said it was an intermediate-range strategic missile used to train troops to operate its hypersonic strategic weapon system. The missiles fired by the North from the Pyongyang area on Monday were its first such launches since Aug. 20.
The tension on the Korean Peninsula has continued since a mine exploded on the southern side of the Demilitarized Zone on September 21. The cause of the explosion was found to be an antipersonnel land mine, which was deliberately planted by North Korea, a joint investigation by the South Korean military and the U.N. Command concluded. However, North Korea denies the charge and accuses the South of fabricating the findings.
Test for both sides are becoming more frequent and are intended to monitor the other side’s military capabilities. North Korea has so far not released any comment through official media regarding the tests held today.
