North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles for the second time in a week

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles toward its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea and Japan said. Just days earlier, Pyongyang opened a uranium enrichment facility and announced plans to strengthen its nuclear weapons arsenal.

The rockets were launched at around 6:50 a.m. from Kaechon, north of the capital Pyongyang, in a northeasterly direction and flew about 400 kilometers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean Armed Forces (JCS) said, but did not provide further details on how many were fired or where they hit.

“We strongly condemn North Korea's missile launch. It is a clear provocation that seriously threatens peace and stability on the Korean peninsula,” the JSC said in a statement. The body announced overwhelming responses to any further provocations.

About 30 minutes after the first missile report, the Japanese coast guard said North Korea had fired another ballistic missile. Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said at least one of the missiles had landed near the North's eastern inland coast and the launches “cannot be tolerated.”

The US Indo-Pacific Command said on X that it was aware of the launches and was coordinating closely with Seoul and Tokyo.

North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles last Thursday, the first such launch in more than two months. The country later described the launch as a test of a new 600mm multiple rocket launcher.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff for Military Cooperation (JCS) has said the launch may have been to test the weapons for export to Russia, amid intensifying military cooperation between the two countries.

The USA, South Korea and Ukraine, among others, accuse Pyongyang of supplying Moscow with rockets and missiles for the war in Ukraine. In return, the country receives economic and military aid.

North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, who is traveling to Russia this week for conference purposes, met with her counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday and discussed ways to promote bilateral relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website.

Wednesday's rocket launches also came just days after the isolated country showed pictures of centrifuges that produce the fuel for its nuclear bombs for the first time. At the same time, ruler Kim Jong Un visited a uranium enrichment facility and demanded more weapons-grade material to expand the arsenal.