South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said one of the missiles launched from the Pyongyang area flew more than 900 km. Published October 12, 2026 October 12, 2026 North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles into the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military says. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said one of the missiles launched from the Pyongyang area flew more than 900 km (559 miles) on Monday. The joint chiefs of staff did not specify how many missiles were detected. Japan’s Deputy Defense Minister Takashi Koyari said at least two missiles were launched 17 minutes apart and landed in waters outside its exclusive economic zone. Koyari said the first missile flew about 220 kilometers (137 miles) and the second more than 910 kilometers (565 miles), following an “irregular” flight path and suggested it may have been a hypersonic weapon. South Korea’s presidential office said Pyongyang’s repeated missile launches violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, urging an immediate stop. Monday’s launches raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula as both countries have been conducting weapons tests. Rising tensions JCS spokesman Jang Do-young said the latest missile launch appears to be a show of force, days after South Korea tested its own hypersonic weapon. On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the On October 3, North Korea also tested an intermediate-range hypersonic missile designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. Last week, Seoul demanded an apology after a landmine explosion. wounded three soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea. A joint South Korean-UN investigation concluded that North Korean forces planted two landmines about a year ago. Pyongyang dismissed the claim and accused South Korea of provocation. Before the border mine explosion, Seoul said it was carrying out “preliminary coordination efforts” to facilitate dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington. Lee promised to reopen dialogue with North Korea in his first speech after taking office in 2025. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un continues to flaunt his nuclear weapons program while rejecting offers from the United States and South Korea to resume stalled diplomacy. Talks between Kim and US President Donald Trump ended abruptly in 2019. Kim Jong Un’s government continues to demand Washington abandon its “hostile” policy toward Pyongyang and drop demands for North Korea’s denuclearization as a condition for talks.
