Missile event in Korea, Democratic People's Republic of on Wed 18th September 2024

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired off "multiple" ballistic missiles on Wednesday for the second time in a week, just days after it publicly revealed one of its uranium enrichment facilities.The Defense Ministry in Tokyo said the latest launches,  which came between 6:53 a.m. and 7:23 a.m., saw the missiles splash down into waters outside Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The ministry, which usually details the trajectory of such launches, did not offer a map of the firings or any information on the distance it estimated the missiles had traveled.

The South Korean military also confirmed the firing of multiple short-range ballistic missiles, saying that all of the weapons had traveled about 400 kilometers (250 miles) but did report the exact number launched.

"Our military will maintain the ability and determination to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation," the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that Wednesday's launches may have involved missiles similar to the North's Hwasong-11 family of missiles, which were previously launched in July.

North Korean state-run media said after the July 1 launches that it had test-fired its new Hwasong-11 Da-4.5 missile at its maximum and minimum ranges, which it said is capable of being tipped with a 4.5-ton "super-large warhead."

In Tokyo, Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said the government had strongly protested the firings, calling the latest launches "absolutely unacceptable" and a "clear violation" of United Nations Security Council resolutions under which Pyongyang is banned from using ballistic missile technology.

Pyongyang last week offered a rare glimpse into one of its secretive uranium enrichment facilities, with state-run media reporting Friday that leader Kim Jong Un had visited a nuclear site, where he urged the introduction of more centrifuges for the weapons-grade material needed to “exponentially increase” the number of nuclear bombs in his arsenal.

A day before those revelations, the North fired off multiple short-range ballistic missiles — part of moves that some experts say are intended to keep Pyongyang on the busy agenda of the next U.S. president following the Nov. 5 election.