North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles toward East Sea

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, marking the country's fourth confirmed missile launch this year.

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the missiles were launched from the Wonsan area and traveled approximately 240 kilometers (149 miles), Yonhap News Agency reported.

The launches came just a day after the North fired an unidentified projectile from Pyongyang, which is believed to have failed shortly after takeoff.

"Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's movements under a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintains readiness to respond to any provocation," the JCS said in a statement, adding that intelligence authorities in both countries are closely sharing information.

The back-to-back launches followed remarks by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who earlier this week expressed regret over unauthorized drone flights by civilians into North Korea. He warned that such incidents risk heightening military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

In response, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, described Lee's comments as "frank" but cautioned Seoul against what she called "reckless provocation," urging restraint and a halt to actions that could escalate tensions.

North Korea last conducted similar missile launches on March 14, coinciding with joint military exercises by South Korea and the United States. State media later said those drills involved large-caliber, precision multiple rocket launchers.

Pyongyang has not issued any official statement regarding this week's launches.

The US Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) said Tuesday that it is closely monitoring multiple ballistic missile launches carried out by North Korea on April 7-8.

In a statement, the command said it is "aware of the missile launches" and is consulting closely with regional allies and partners in response to the activity.

"Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies," it added.

The command reiterated that the US remains committed to defending the homeland and supporting its allies in the Indo-Pacific region.