North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles toward east — SkimNews
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- North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on October 12, 2026, from around Pyongyang, with South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff saying at least one flew more than 900 km before splashing into the sea.
- Japan's Deputy Defense Minister Takashi Koyari said Japan detected at least two missiles launched 17 minutes apart, with the second flying about 910 km on an "irregular" trajectory suggesting a hypersonic weapon, landing outside Japan's exclusive economic zone with no damage reported.
- South Korea's Joint Chiefs spokesperson Jang Do-young said the launches likely aimed to advance missile technology while possibly responding to South Korea's own October 9 hypersonic weapon flight test, which President Lee Jae Myung called critical to conventional defense.
- South Korea's Presidential National Security Office demanded North Korea "immediately cease" the launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions, while Japan lodged protests through embassies in Beijing.
- The latest test follows North Korea's October 3 launch of what Pyongyang described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan.
- Kim Jong Un has rebuffed President Donald Trump's calls to revive diplomacy that broke down in 2019, demanding Washington abandon its "hostile" policy and drop denuclearization as a precondition for talks.
- Tensions worsened last month after three South Korean soldiers were injured in land mine explosions near the DMZ; the U.S.-led UN Command blamed North Korean-planted devices, which Pyongyang denied and ridiculed.
Why it matters: North Korea's continued testing of suspected hypersonic capabilities reaching 910+ km directly challenges missile defenses in South Korea and Japan, while Kim's explicit rejection of Trump's diplomatic overtures—demanding Washington abandon preconditions—keeps the nuclear stalemate frozen and raises the cost of any future talks.
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