North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles Sunday, Tokyo and Seoul said, in what reports said may have been tests of submarine-launched weapons.
The weapons were believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said in a post on X, adding that Japan was working closely with the United States and South Korea to analyze the launches.
Takaichi said the government had convened an emergency response team at the Prime Minister’s Office to gather information.
The South Korean military also said it had detected multiple ballistic missiles fired from the Sinpho area toward the east. It said the missiles had flown around 140 kilometers.
The South Korean military is considering the possibility that the latest launch involved submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), the Yonhap news agency reported.
Submarine-related facilities are known to be located in Sinpho, with the North’s Hero Kim Kun Ok and the 8.24 Yongung submarines previously spotted at the eastern coastal city. Pyongyang test-fired an SLBM in waters off Sinpho in May 2022.
The Defense Ministry in Tokyo said later Sunday that the weapons were estimated to have landed “near the eastern coast of the Korean Peninsula.”
“North Korea’s series of actions, including the repeated launches of ballistic missiles and other weapons, threaten the peace and security of Japan, the region and the international community,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that Japan had “lodged a strong protest” with Pyongyang over the launches.
Seoul’s presidential Office of National Security also condemned the launches, calling them a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and demanding an immediate halt.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang tested weapon systems over three days, including the launch of ballistic missiles and cluster bombs, state-run media said on April 8.
AloJapan.com