North Korea launched several ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday morning, according to South Korea's military, marking the latest weapons activity along the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a statement that military defense systems detected the launches originating from the Pyongyang region at approximately 09:20 local time (0020 GMT). "Our military detected around 09:20 (0020 GMT) several ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang area towards the East Sea," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan. The statement added that South Korean forces have "stepped up surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches."
The latest missile activity follows Pyongyang's test-firing of a ballistic missile earlier this month on October 3. North Korean officials claimed that earlier launch incorporated artificial intelligence technology. Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, publicly stated at the time that the missile "is capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude and AI was introduced into it."
Following Pyongyang's early October test, South Korea announced days later that it had successfully conducted its first test of a homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV). The system is carried into the upper atmosphere by rocket boosters or ballistic missiles before gliding toward target locations. South Korea's presidential office stated that the HGV provides "a new deterrence capability capable of striking key targets within the Korean Peninsula's operational environment."
Cross-border military friction has remained elevated since three South Korean soldiers were injured when two landmines detonated inside the Seoul-controlled sector of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), which has served as a buffer between the two nations since the 1953 armistice. A joint investigation carried out by Seoul and the United Nations alleged that North Korean troops had planted the landmines over a year prior, a claim that Pyongyang has angrily denied.
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