N. Korea fires short-range missiles in 4th launch this month

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea Monday in its fourth weapons launch this month, South Korea’s military said, with the apparent goal of demonstrating its military might during paused diplomacy with the United States and pandemic border closures.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea likely fired two short-range ballistic missiles from an area in Sunan, the site of Pyongyang’s international airport. The missiles were launched four minutes apart and flew about 380 kilometers (236 miles) with a maximum altitude of 42 kilometers (26 miles) before landing in waters off the country’s northeastern coast, it said.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the missiles did not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to its allies, but highlighted the destabilizing impact of North Korea’s “illicit” weapons program. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said the missiles landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone, and Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno condemned the actions as threats to peace.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is visiting the United Arab Emirates, instructed officials to make “utmost efforts to ensure stability” on the Korean Peninsula, his office said. It also said members of the presidential National Security Council stressed the need to revive nuclear diplomacy with North Korea.

The U.S. special representative for North Korea, Sung Kim, called his counterparts in Japan and South Korea to discuss the launches and urged the North to instead engage in dialogue. The three officials pledged to continue their close coordination, the U.S. Department of State said.

North Korea conducted flight tests of a purported hypersonic missile on Jan. 5 and Jan. 11 and also test-fired ballistic missiles from a train on Friday in an apparent reprisal for new sanctions imposed by the Biden administration last week for its continuing test launches.

North Korea has been ramping up tests in recent months of new, potentially nuclear-capable missiles designed to be maneuverable and fly at low altitudes, which potentially improve their chances of evading missile defenses in the region.