North Korea Remains Silent After Missile Launch... No Reports for Four Times in a Month

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea yesterday (the 12th), but North Korean state media remained silent once again the following day, today.

As of 11 a.m. today, North Korean media outlets—such as the Korean Central News Agency, targeted at overseas audiences, and the Rodong Sinmun, the organ of the Workers' Party read by North Korean citizens—have not reported on the missiles launched the previous day.

Following missile launches on August 6, 12, and 20, North Korea has fired ballistic missiles into the East Sea a total of four times over the past month or so, including the launch on the 12th, yet it continues to omit any mention of them.

Traditionally, when North Korea launches ballistic missiles, it has used state media starting early the next morning to report them as "weapon tests" or "test-firing of missiles," promoting related achievements and consolidating internal unity. When Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong-un has attended, they have further highlighted the event.

There have been instances where North Korea chose not to report missile launches if they were routine drills or simple technical checks with limited value for demonstrating military might or propaganda.

Reports may also be omitted if a launch test fails or if the results fall short of expectations.

However, analysts note that it is unusual for North Korea to maintain consecutive silence even though all of the recent four launches were detected by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff surveillance network and reported domestically.

Possibilities raised include that North Korea may be adjusting its practice of reporting missile launches for the time being, or that it is regulating the intensity of its provocations while keeping in check South Korea-U.S. and South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises, while also taking into consideration U.S. President Donald Trump's messaging proposing North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch comes 23 days after the previous one on August 20, marking the 13th such launch this year.

North Korea fired one short-range ballistic missile each on August 6 and 12, and approximately 10 missiles on August 20 while the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises were underway.

The UFS exercises, regular South Korea-U.S. joint exercises for the defense of the Korean Peninsula in contingencies, were originally scheduled to run from August 17 to 27, but following U.S. President Donald Trump's directive to scale them down, the training period was significantly reduced from 11 days to 5 days, ending on August 21.

The South Korea-U.S.-Japan trilateral multi-domain exercise, Freedom Edge, was conducted as scheduled for five days from the 7th to the 11th in international waters east and south of Jeju Island.

In a statement issued on the 7th by North Korean Defense Minister Kim Sung-gi, North Korea protested U.S.-led joint military drills such as Freedom Edge, threatening that "if the United States and its allies attempt a new military confrontation with us, we will also take strong and reflective countermeasures from a position of strength."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.