South Korea’s SEOULAs part of its ongoing weapons displays in front of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, North Korea fired several missiles toward its eastern waters on Tuesday, according to South Korea’s military.
According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the short-range ballistic missiles were launched from an interior location in the north and traveled roughly 155 miles before coming down in waters between Japan and the Korean Peninsula.
According to the joint chiefs, the South Korean military has increased surveillance and informed the Japanese and American forces about the launch. It declared that it strongly disapproves of the test, calling it a blatant provocation that endangers the peace and stability of the area.
After an aballistic launch last week, it was North Korea’s second launch event of 2025.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un promised to increase his arsenal of nuclear-capable weapons to deter adversaries, and the country claimed that the test on January 6 was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile intended to hit distant targets in the Pacific.
North Korea just finished a turbulent year of testing its munitions. Solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles intended to hit the U.S. mainland and a variety of shorter-range missiles intended to overpower South Korean missile defenses were among the systems it showcased in 2024. As the two nations unify over the war in Ukraine, there are worries that technical transfers from Russia could further develop its military capabilities.
Kim denounced the Biden administration’s attempts to fortify security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he characterized as a nuclear military bloc for aggression, and pledged to enact the strictest anti-US policies at a year-end political gathering.
Neither Kim’s policy goals nor any particular remarks regarding Trump were mentioned by North Korean state media. Trump met with Kim three times during his first term in office to discuss the North’s nuclear development.
Diplomacy with North Korea may not resume quickly, even if Trump returns to the White House. Experts say that fresh obstacles to ending the nuclear impasse are presented by Kim’s improved stance, which is based on his enlarged nuclear weapons, his growing relationship with Russia, and the waning enforcement of U.S. international sanctions.