North Korea test-fired ballistic missiles in latest military display, neighbors say

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea on Wednesday test-fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern seas, the South Korean and Japanese militaries said, adding to its military demonstrations as tensions with Washington and neighbors escalate.

The launches come days after North Korea offered a rare view into a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear bombs as leader Kim Jong Un called for a rapid expansion of his nuclear weapons program.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected North Korea firing multiple short-range ballistic missiles from north of its capital, Pyongyang, and said they traveled about 400 kilometers (244 miles) while flying toward the northeast.

The joint chiefs said it was closely communicating with the United States and Japan while analyzing the launches but didn’t immediately provide further flight details.

Japan’s defense ministry said it detected at least two launches but didn’t immediately say what types of missiles they were and how far they flew.

Japan’s coast guard said the missiles were believed to have already fallen into waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan and urged vessels to watch out for falling objects. Japan’s NHK television said the missiles were believed to have landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

The South Korean joint chiefs condemned the launches as a provocation that “seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.” It said in a statement that South Korean and U.S. militaries were closely monitoring North Korean activities while maintaining a combined defense posture “to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation.”

Hours after the launches, South Korean officials said North Korea was again flying suspected trash-carrying balloons toward South Korean territory, extending a Cold War-style psychological warfare campaign that has worsened animosities between the rivals.

The local government of South Korea’s capital, Seoul, issued text alerts advising citizens to be cautious of objects falling from the sky.

North Korea since May has launched thousands of balloons toward the South to drop paper scraps, plastic bottles and other trash, in what it has described as a retaliation against South Korean civilian activists flying anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets toward the North.

North Korea is extremely sensitive to outside criticism about Kim’s government and his family’s dynastic rule.

North Korea didn’t immediately confirm Wednesday’s missile launches. They followed a previous round of ballistic tests last week as Kim vowed to have his nuclear force fully ready for battle with its rivals.

The North said the launches on Sept. 12 involved its “super-large” 600mm multiple rocket launchers, which it describes as capable of delivering tactical nuclear warheads. Experts say North Korea’s large-sized artillery rockets blur the boundary between artillery systems and ballistic missiles because they can create their own thrust and are guided during delivery.

Since 2022, North Korea has ramped up its weapons testing activities to expand and modernize its arsenal of nuclear missiles targeting the U.S. and South Korea. The allies have expanded their combined military exercises and are updating their nuclear deterrence strategies based on U.S. assets to counter the North’s growing threat.

Analysts say Kim’s long-term goal is to force the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.

While disclosing the uranium enrichment facility last week, Kim called for stronger efforts to “exponentially” increase its number of nuclear weapons in the face of what he described as U.S. threats. State media published photos that showed Kim talking with military officials and scientists between long lone lines of centrifuges used to produce weapons-grade uranium, but the reports didn’t say where the facility was located or when Kim made the visit.

Analysts say North Korea could conduct a nuclear test explosion or long-range missile test ahead of the U.S. presidential election in November with the intent of influencing the outcome and increasing its leverage in future dealings with the new U.S. administration.

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Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo.