SEOUL, Jan 27 (Reuters) – North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea on Tuesday that were likely short-range projectiles, South Korea and Japan said, as Washington and Seoul hold talks on transforming their defence posture against Pyongyang.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from an area near the North’s capital, Pyongyang, at around 3:50 p.m. local time (0650 GMT) towards the sea off its east coast. It said the missiles flew about 350 km (217 miles).
Japan’s coast guard separately said it had detected what could be ballistic missiles launched by North Korea that dropped a few minutes later. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the missiles would have no impact on Japan.
The missiles reached a maximum altitude of 80 km, according to Japan.
South Korea’s Office of National Security urged North Korea to immediately halt ballistic missile launches, condemning them as provocative activities and violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Japan said “repeated launches of ballistic missiles…by North Korea threatens the peace and security of our country, the region and the international community”.
“Such ballistic missile launches also violate relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and constitute a grave issue affecting the safety of the public. Japan has lodged a strong protest with North Korea and strongly condemned these actions,” it said in a statement.
North Korea has in recent months test-launched short-range missiles and multiple-launch rockets that it has said were being developed as a key part of its tactical nuclear arsenal to protect itself from threats from the U.S. and South Korea.
Interest has grown in North Korea’s short-range ballistic missiles and artillery after Pyongyang supplied them to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine under a mutual defence pact it signed with Moscow in 2024.
The latest launch comes during a senior U.S. Defense Department official’s visit to South Korea, where he discussed modernising their military alliance as Washington seeks a more limited role in the combined defence efforts against North Korea.
(Reporting by Jack Kim and Joyce Lee in Seoul, and Kantaro Komiya in TokyoEditing by Ed Davies and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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