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4w ago

North Korea Fires Two Short‑Range Ballistic Missiles From Wonsan

Pyongyang says the launches validated a new hypersonic‑capable system, prompting allied technical checks and diplomatic protests.

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test at a train station in Seoul.
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North Korea tests a new combat weapon system at an unspecified location on Sept. 20, 2026, in this combined photo released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Sept. 22. North Korea did not specify what the weapon system was but stressed the test, carried out by the General Missile Bureau, was "of significant importance for advancing weapons system technology," with the North's leader Kim Jong-un watching, the KCNA said. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

Overview

  • South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Sunday that North Korea launched two short‑range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area about three hours apart, with the first flying roughly 450 km and the second more than 600 km into the East Sea.
  • Seoul convened an emergency National Security Council meeting, Japan lodged a formal protest after the projectiles landed outside its exclusive economic zone, and South Korea, the United States and Japan have been sharing tracking data and holding consultations.
  • North Korea’s state media later called the firings a test of a “new weapon,” published photos identifying the missile as a Hwasong‑11Ma that Pyongyang described as hypersonic, and said leader Kim Jong Un observed the test.
  • Allied analysts are conducting detailed post‑launch assessments to verify range and performance and have cautioned that Pyongyang’s hypersonic claims require technical confirmation; the launches breach U.N. Security Council restrictions on North Korean ballistic tests.
  • The tests come ahead of high‑level diplomacy, follow recent multinational drills and a rejected IAEA resolution, and could be intended to signal capability and resolve while raising regional surveillance and readiness levels.