North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles Into Sea, Japan and South Korea Confirm Launch

North Korea fired off an apparent ballistic missile on Sunday, September 20, Japan’s Defense Ministry said, with the weapon falling into the sea shortly after launch. Hours later, South Korea’s military reported that North Korea had fired another unidentified projectile toward the East Sea. The launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea also known as the Sea of Japan as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill. It also followed Pyongyang’s rejection this week of a resolution by the UN’s nuclear watchdog demanding that it halt its nuclear activities.

“The North has fired an unidentified projectile into the East Sea,” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement. The office of Japan’s prime minister also confirmed the launch, saying on X that the projectile was a “suspected ballistic missile.” Japan’s Defense Ministry later said the projectile had “already fallen,” without offering further details. In its statement, the Prime Minister’s office said Japan would dedicate maximum effort to gathering and analysing information, and would provide the public with updates in a timely and appropriate manner. It added that it would work to ensure the safety of aircraft, vessels and other assets, and take all possible precautionary measures, including readiness for any contingencies.

The launch comes just after South Korea wrapped up five days of joint maritime drills with the United States and Japan, focused on North Korea. Pyongyang had criticised the drills, named the “Freedom Edge exercises” and held in international waters off South Korea, calling them a “threat” to the North and other countries in the region. North Korea’s defence minister, Kim Song Gi, had earlier warned that Pyongyang was capable of taking “strong and reflective countermeasures from the standpoint of power.”

Last week, the US issued a statement on North Korea’s missile launches, saying it was aware of them but, based on its current assessment, did not consider them an immediate threat to US personnel, territory or allies. The statement came as US President Donald Trump made another attempt to reach out to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Trump had also shortened the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises between South Korea and the US, describing the drills as “inappropriate and hostile” toward North Korea. Speaking to reporters at the White House on August 19, Trump said he plans to meet the North Korean leader sometime this year.

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TV screen showing North Korean missile launch footage at Seoul railway station