North Korea fires multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward East Sea

North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles Sunday toward the East Sea, according to South Korea and Japan.

Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the missiles launched from the Sinpho area in North Korea at around 6.10 am (2110GMT Saturday), which flew 140 kilometers (87 miles), Yonhap News reported.

This launch marks Pyongyang's seventh missile test in 2026 and its fourth in April.

"Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various movements under a robust South Korea-US combined defense posture and maintains the capabilities and posture to respond to any provocation in an overwhelming manner," said the JCS.

South Korean and US intelligence have tracked movements related to the launch and have also shared relevant information with Japan, it added.

Japan's Defense Ministry said North Korea launched ballistic missiles, with the projectiles apparently having fallen outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, with no damage reported in the country, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

Seoul denounced Pyongyang's missile test as a violation of a UN Security Council resolution and called for an immediate halt to the launches.

North Korea last fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles April 8.