North Korea launched about ten unidentified ballistic missiles towards the Sea of Japan on Saturday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South Korea reported, LETA writes, citing AFP/AP.
South Korean military detected "approximately ten unidentified ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea towards the Sea of Japan" at around 13:20 (6:20 Latvian time), according to a statement from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The missiles flew about 350 kilometers.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense also confirmed the launch, stating on its official account on the platform "X" that "a ballistic missile was presumably launched from North Korea."
Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated that the missiles fell outside the country's exclusive economic zone, and there is no information about damage to aircraft or vessels.
The launches occurred just hours after South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-sok stated, following a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, that Trump believed a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un would be beneficial.
Washington has been leading efforts to eliminate North Korea's nuclear program for decades; however, summits, sanctions, and diplomatic pressure have yielded little results.
The Trump administration has been trying in recent months to resume high-level negotiations with Pyongyang, hoping for a possible summit with Kim Jong-un this year, possibly in late March or early April, when Trump is set to visit Beijing.
During his visit to Asia in October, Trump stated that he was fully open to meeting with Kim Jong-un, but North Korea did not respond to this statement.
After largely ignoring the U.S. for several months, Kim recently stated that both countries could "coexist" if Washington recognizes Pyongyang's nuclear status.
Joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., named "Freedom Shield," are ongoing and will continue until March 19.
Pyongyang recently threatened "terrible consequences" for the South Korea-U.S. military exercises and characterized the latest peace efforts as a "clumsy, misleading farce," thereby diminishing hopes for improved diplomatic relations between North and South Korea.
