North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, accelerating missile launches amid war tensions with Iran and talk of possible meetings with the United States and South Korea.
Some experts said Pyongyang’s intense missile activity – this was the fourth such launch this month and the seventh this year – was aimed at demonstrating its self-defense capabilities while gaining international influence.
“Launching missiles may be a way to show that – unlike Iran – we have self-defense capabilities,” said former South Korean presidential security adviser Kim Ki-jong.
He added: “It appears that the North is exerting preemptive pressure and displaying force before entering into a dialogue with the United States and South Korea.”
The Iranian war and Trump’s visit loom
Experts and former South Korean officials say the seven-week US-Israeli war against Iran, whose primary goal is to curb Tehran’s nuclear program, could boost Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
President Donald Trump, who is preparing to hold a summit in China next month, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have repeatedly expressed interest in holding talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
There are no publicly known plans for any meetings.
Lee recently expressed his regret to North Korea over drone strikes from the South, receiving rare praise from Pyongyang.
The South Korean military said in a statement that Sunday’s missiles were launched from near the city of Sinpo on North Korea’s eastern coast toward the sea at around 6:10 a.m. and flew for a distance of about 87 miles.
The Japanese government posted on social media that the missiles are believed to have landed near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula, and no incursion into Japan’s exclusive economic zone has been confirmed.
South Korea’s presidential Blue House held an emergency security meeting, calling the launches a provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, according to media reports.
It urged Pyongyang to “stop provocative actions.”
It was not clear what type of ballistic missiles were launched, but Sinpo has submarines and equipment to test launches of submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
The North last launched a ballistic missile from a submarine in May 2022, and it flew up to 370 miles.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said on Wednesday that North Korea has made “very dangerous” progress in its ability to produce nuclear weapons, with the possibility of adding a new uranium enrichment facility.
In late March, North Korean leader Kim said that Pyongyang’s status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible, and that expanding the “self-defense nuclear deterrent” was essential for national security.