Launch detected around 9:20 a.m. from Pyongyang area

South Korea, US, Japan sharing intelligence on North's ballistic missiles

Launch comes 4 days after Seoul disclosed first test of homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle

North Korea conducted a medium-range strategic ballistic missile launch drill from its eastern region into the East Sea on Oct. 3, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media KCNA reported Friday. [Yonhap]
North Korea conducted a medium-range strategic ballistic missile launch drill from its eastern region into the East Sea on Oct. 3, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media KCNA reported Friday. [Yonhap]

North Korea fired several ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Monday morning, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

"Our military detected several ballistic missiles fired from the Pyongyang area into the East Sea at around 9:20 a.m.," the JCS said, adding that surveillance and alert postures had been heightened in preparation for additional launches. South Korea, the United States and Japan are closely sharing intelligence on the North's ballistic missiles and maintaining full readiness, it said.

Earlier, North Korea had fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area into the East Sea on Oct. 3. That missile traveled more than 700 kilometers.

North Korea subsequently announced through state media that it had launched a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile in the presence of leader Kim Jong-un, claiming a range of 1,000 kilometers.

Monday's launch came four days after the South Korean government disclosed on Thursday that it had successfully test-fired a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle for the first time, a move seen as a response to a landmine explosion involving North Korean troops in the Demilitarized Zone.


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