Seoul’s military says launches may have been to test weapons intended for export.
North Korea has fired a flurry of short-range ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military has said, in what Seoul called a possible test of weapons intended for export.
North Korean forces launched the missiles from an area near the eastern port city of Wonsan between 8:10am (23:10 GMT on Wednesday) and 9:20am (00:20 GMT), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Thursday.
The missiles flew up to 800km (500 miles) before landing in the Sea of Japan, the JSC said.
The launches are the fourth round of ballistic missile tests carried out by North Korea this year, after the firing of several different missile types in January and March.
“Our military, under the strong South Korea-US combined defense posture, is closely monitoring various North Korean activities to prevent any misjudgment (by the North),” the JSC said in a statement.
Lee Sung Joon, a JSC spokesperson, said in a briefing that the launches may have been to test the “performance or flight stability” of planned missile exports.
Lee did not specify which country might receive the missiles, but Pyongyang has been a key backer of Russia in its war in Ukraine.
North Korea has sent missiles, artillery and some 15,000 soldiers to Russia to support its war effort, according to South Korea’s National Intelligence Service.
About 4,700 North Korean soldiers have been killed or injured in fighting so far, according to the intelligence service.
Pyongyang last month acknowledged the deployment for the first time, with state media quoting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un saying his forces would help “annihilate and wipe out the Ukrainian neo-Nazi occupiers and liberate the Kursk area in cooperation with the Russian armed forces”.
North Korea signed a landmark mutual defence treaty with Russia last year following a state visit to the reclusive country by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Thursday’s missile launches also drew condemnation from Japan, with Japanese Defense Minister Nakatani Gen telling reporters that Tokyo had lodged a protest with Pyongyang.
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