By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-13 01:56:13 | Updated at 2026-10-14 04:00:07
1 day ago
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North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles from the vicinity of Pyongyang towards Japan, sparking "strong condemnation" from Tokyo.
The South Korean military reported detecting the launches at about 9.20am local time (1.20am BST), with some projectiles travelling more than 900 kilometres.
Japan's defence ministry confirmed it tracked at least two missiles and assessed that the weapons splashed down in waters beyond the country's exclusive economic zone.
Japan's vice minister of defence for policy, Takashi Koyari, said one missile flew more than 559 miles, while the second reached roughly 137 miles.
Mr Koyari added that authorities in Japan, South Korea and the United States were now analysing the longer-range projectile, "including the possibility of an irregular trajectory."
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Koyari said: "Actions by North Korea threaten the peace and security of our country, the region, and the international community.
"Regarding this launch, we have lodged a stern protest and strong condemnation with North Korea through our embassy channel in Beijing."
The launches followed weeks of escalating friction between the two Koreas, triggered by a landmine blast in the Demilitarised Zone that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the Seoul-controlled portion of the heavily fortified border.
A joint investigation conducted by Seoul and the US-led United Nations Command determined that North Korea had planted the explosive devices.
Pyongyang has furiously rejected these accusations.
Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, dismissed South Korean demands for an apology as "despicable" and separately turned down an offer of medical equipment from Seoul.
She declared on Thursday that South Korea must show "utmost respect, consideration and sincerity" if it genuinely wishes to repair relations between the two nations.
Seoul and Pyongyang have never formally ended hostilities, with the 1950-53 Korean War concluding with an armistice rather than a peace agreement.
North Korea's state media outlet confirmed on Tuesday that Pyongyang had test-fired a tactical ballistic missile.
Officials said the exercise verified a successful technical upgrade to a critical core component, but offered no further details.
This week's launches marked the North's fourth round of weapons tests in a single month.
According to Japan's vice minister of defence for policy, it was also the regime's 11th missile firing of 2026, more than double the total recorded in all of 2025.
The day before the test, Kim Jong Un toured a defence industry museum, highlighting military achievements under his rule and declaring that the country's arsenal "will be developed and completed in a more strenuous manner."
The intensifying pace of testing has mirrored South Korea's own advances, with Seoul successfully trialling a domestically produced hypersonic glide vehicle just days earlier, which President Lee Jae-myung hailed as a significant boost to the nation's conventional deterrence.
Donald Trump said on Monday that he could meet Kim Jong Un while travelling in Asia.
When asked about a potential meeting, the US President said: "I may, yeah. That'll be exciting, won't it? But I get along with him."
President Trump has previously committed to holding talks with the North Korean leader before the end of 2026, though Kim's government has so far rebuffed Washington's diplomatic overtures.
Pyongyang has insisted the US must first abandon what it calls a "hostile" stance and drop preconditions around denuclearisation.
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