The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launches from around 9:20 a.m. and that South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities were conducting a detailed analysis of the missiles’ specifications.
“At around 9:20 a.m. today, our military detected multiple ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea,” a JCS official said. “The detected missiles flew more than 900 kilometers, and South Korea and the United States are closely analyzing their exact specifications.”
“We need a more detailed analysis,” the JCS official said when asked whether the missiles could be hypersonic or intermediate-range weapons.
South Korea’s military said it has strengthened surveillance and readiness for possible additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan are closely sharing information on the North Korean missiles.
The military is also examining the possibility that Monday’s launches were intended partly as a show of force following South Korea’s successful test of a domestically developed hypersonic missile on Oct. 8.
The JCS said its preliminary assessment included the possibility that Pyongyang was responding to the South Korean test while also seeking to demonstrate progress in its own missile capabilities under its five-year defense development plan. It stressed that further analysis was underway.
President Lee Jae Myung oversaw South Korea’s first publicly disclosed test of its domestically developed hypersonic missile last week, four days before Monday’s North Korean launches.
Monday’s launches also came nine days after North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on Oct. 3.
The latest launches come amid heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula following a series of missile tests by both Koreas and a recent land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone that injured three South Korean officers.
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