▲ The Korean Central News Agency reported on October 4 that a launching drill of intermediate-range strategic missiles was conducted from North Korea's eastern region into the East Sea in the early hours of October 3, with Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, observing.
North Korea fired several ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea this morning (October 12).
Jang Do-young, head of the Public Affairs Office at the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), announced in a briefing that several ballistic missiles fired from the Pyongyang area in North Korea were detected around 9:20 a.m.
Jang said the missiles flew more than 900 kilometers, adding that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are closely analyzing their detailed specifications.
Earlier, the JCS stated that it has heightened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches by North Korea.
The JCS also reported that South Korea, the United States, and Japan are closely sharing ballistic missile-related data while maintaining full readiness.
This marks the first time North Korea has fired missiles from the Pyongyang area since August 20.
At that time, North Korea launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles presumed to be 600mm super-large multiple rocket launchers (KN-25) into the East Sea.
This latest ballistic missile launch is North Korea's 16th this year, coming nine days after October 3.
North Korea claimed that the ballistic missile fired from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on October 3 was an "intermediate-range strategic missile" fitted with a hypersonic warhead.
Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, who oversaw the test-launch at the time, stressed, "We must ceaselessly continue our responsible efforts to constantly and repeatedly make our adversaries aware of the reliability and lethality of our strategic offensive means."
North Korea claimed that the missile flew 1,000 kilometers.
It also claimed that South Korean military authorities, who announced the flight distance as "more than 700 kilometers," had failed to properly detect the missile.
The latest launch also came just four days after the South Korean government made a surprise announcement of its first test-launch of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), in an apparent response to a landmine blast involving North Korean troops in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
With President Lee Jae-myung observing, the government carried out the first test-launch of the domestically developed HGV from an offshore barge at the Agency for Defense Development's (ADD) Anheung test site on October 8.
Photos of the HGV launch were later released to the public.
Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds exceeding Mach 5 and follow irregular flight paths, unlike conventional parabolic ballistic trajectories.
Because tracking and intercepting them is extremely challenging, they are viewed as "game changers" on the battlefield.
Given that South Korean military authorities only stated the flight distance as over "900 km," analysts suggest North Korea may have once again launched a hypersonic missile whose terminal phase is difficult to detect.
Unlike standard ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles perform a pull-up maneuver—descending and then climbing again—during the terminal phase before gliding over a certain distance.
Furthermore, because of radar detection limitations caused by the curvature of the Earth, they often travel farther than the flight ranges estimated by South Korean and Japanese defense authorities.
With a flight distance surpassing 900 kilometers, the projectiles could also be intermediate-range class missiles or higher.
Regarding the intent behind the launch, Director Jang stated, "Initial analysis suggests it is an intentional display of missile capabilities and a show of achievements under the five-year defense development roadmap, serving in part as an armed protest against our successful hypersonic missile test-launch."
(Photos: KCNA, Yonhap News)
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