North Korea Fires Two Ballistic Missiles Toward Sea of Japan, S. Korean Military Reveals

In mid-October, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that North Korea had fired 100 artillery shots toward the Yellow Sea, with the shells landing in the western buffer zone established under the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement.

North Korea fired two ballistic missiles on Friday toward the Sea of Japan, the South Korean military has confirmed.

Citing military authorities, Yonhap reported that the launches had been detected from the Kangwon Province's Tongchon area at 11:59 a.m. and 12:18 p.m., respectively.The projectile's range, altitude and speed remain unknown as officials work to analyze the launch.

The Friday launch comes days after another ballistic missile had been launched two weeks prior. At the time, officials indicated that the missile had managed to travel some 650 kilometers at a maximum sustained altitude of 50 kilometers.

However, the latest launch comes on the same day that the 2022 Hoguk military exercises are set to conclude.

To date, North Korea has conducted over 20 missile launches since the start of the year; however, Friday's test marks the sixth to take place under the administration of South Korea's Yun Seok Yeol.

Weighing in on recent North Korean missile tests, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price commented on Tuesday that any provocation or potential nuclear test by Pyongyang would be met with an "unprecedented" response.

North Kora tested its first nuclear device in 2006, and has not carried out such a test since 2017, when it implemented a moratorium. Earlier this year, in September, North Korea implemented a decree that officially enshrined the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes in order to protect itself.