North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbours said, days after the U.N. nuclear watchdog warned of “very serious” progress in Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons development.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired Sunday morning from the Sinpo area on the country’s east coast, a region that hosts a major shipyard used for submarine construction. South Korea’s military said it has strengthened surveillance and is closely sharing intelligence with the United States and Japan.
The presidential office in Seoul said the National Security Council plans to hold an emergency meeting to assess the situation.

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Japan’s Defence Ministry also detected the launches, saying the missiles were believed to have landed in waters off North Korea’s east coast. Tokyo lodged a strong protest, calling the launches a threat to regional and global peace and a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning ballistic missile activity by North Korea.
The latest launches come amid a series of weapons tests this year. Last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw missile tests from a destroyer, while earlier Pyongyang conducted three days of trials involving ballistic missiles with cluster warheads and other systems. In March, it tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
North Korea has expanded its nuclear programme since the collapse of talks with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019. While Trump has expressed interest in resuming dialogue, Kim has indicated openness only if Washington drops denuclearisation demands.