North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Flying over 900 km, 4 Days After South Korea's Hypersonic Launch

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced that North Korea fired several ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea this morning (October 12).

In a briefing, JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young stated, "Around 9:20 a.m. on October 12, we detected several ballistic missiles fired toward the East Sea from the Pyongyang area in North Korea."

Jang said, "The detected North Korean missiles flew more than 900 kilometers, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are conducting a detailed analysis of their exact specifications."

Earlier, in a media notice regarding North Korea's ballistic missile launch, the JCS stated, "While the military has heightened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, South Korea, the United States, and Japan are maintaining full readiness while closely sharing information regarding the North Korean ballistic missiles."

This marks the first time North Korea has fired missiles from the Pyongyang area since August 20, when it launched around 10 short-range ballistic missiles presumed to be 600 mm super-large multiple rocket launchers (KN-25) toward the East Sea.

North Korea's ballistic missile launch is its 16th this year, and comes nine days after October 3.

North Korea claimed that the ballistic missile fired toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area on October 3 was an "intermediate-range strategic missile" loaded with a hypersonic warhead.

The latest launch also comes four days after the South Korean government made a surprise announcement of its first test-launch of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), conducted in response to a North Korean landmine explosion incident in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

With President Lee Jae-myung observing, the government conducted the first test-launch of an HGV being developed with indigenous technology from an offshore barge at the Agency for Defense Development's Anheung test site on October 8.

Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of Mach 5 or higher and perform irregular maneuvers distinct from typical parabolic ballistic trajectories, making them extremely difficult to track and intercept, and earning them the title of battlefield "game changers."

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.