News coverage of North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launches plays on a screen at Seoul Station on Saturday, the day after the trilateral South Korea-US-Japan military exercise Freedom Edge concluded. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected several short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at around 5:20 a.m., adding that the missiles flew approximately 250 kilometers and that South Korea and the United States were conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications. [Yonhap]
News coverage of North Korea's short-range ballistic missile launches plays on a screen at Seoul Station on Saturday, the day after the trilateral South Korea-US-Japan military exercise Freedom Edge concluded. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected several short-range ballistic missiles fired from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea at around 5:20 a.m., adding that the missiles flew approximately 250 kilometers and that South Korea and the United States were conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications. [Yonhap]

North Korea has fired missiles four times in just over a month — and said nothing about any of them.

Pyongyang launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Saturday, its first such launch in more than 20 days, yet state media remained silent the following day.

As of 7:30 a.m. Sunday, neither KCNA — North Korea's external-facing news agency — nor the ruling party's Rodong Sinmun newspaper had reported on Saturday's launches.

The silence extends across all four launches North Korea has conducted over the past month or so: Aug. 6, Aug. 12, Aug. 20 and Saturday — each time firing ballistic missiles toward the East Sea without any subsequent acknowledgment.

Analysts say the unbroken silence is unusual. Some interpret it as a deliberate calibration: Pyongyang is using ballistic missile launches to push back against joint military exercises — including Ulchi Freedom Shield and Freedom Edge — while stopping short of full-scale provocation in deference to US President Donald Trump's overtures for North Korea-US dialogue.

North Korea has typically reported ballistic missile launches through state media early the following morning, framing them as weapons tests or missile test-launches to trumpet achievements and reinforce internal cohesion. When leader Kim Jong-un is present to observe, the coverage is even more prominent.

Pyongyang has, however, occasionally skipped coverage when a launch amounts to a routine drill or a simple technology check with limited propaganda value. Failed tests or results that fall short of expectations can also go unreported.

Saturday's launches came 23 days after the Aug. 20 launch and marked North Korea's 13th ballistic missile launch this year. Pyongyang fired one short-range ballistic missile each on Aug. 6 and Aug. 12, then launched more than 10 on Aug. 20 while the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise was under way.


cheon@heraldcorp.com