North Korea sends chilling warning to world as ballistic missiles deployed: 'Very serious'

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the launches took place on Sunday morning from the Sinpo area, an eastern coastal location housing a major North Korean shipyard used for submarine construction. South Korea’s military announced it had strengthened its surveillance operations and was maintaining close communication with both the US and Japan.

South Korea’s presidential office revealed that its National Security Council intended to convene an emergency meeting to address the launches.

Japan’s Defence Ministry also detected the launches, reporting that the missiles were believed to have come down in waters off North Korea’s eastern coastline.

Tokyo lodged a strong protest with Pyongyang, asserting that Sunday’s launches posed a threat to regional and international stability and were in direct violation of UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from conducting any ballistic activities.

Last week, North Korea announced that leader Kim Jong Un had overseen missile tests from the country’s destroyer. The week prior, North Korea claimed it had conducted three days of testing to evaluate ballistic missiles fitted with cluster-bomb warheads alongside other new weapons systems.

Last month, it stated it had tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine for missiles capable of striking the U.S. mainland.

Since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019, Kim has concentrated on bolstering his nuclear and missile capabilities.

Trump has repeatedly voiced his desire to revive diplomatic relations with Kim, and the North Korean leader has recently left the door ajar for dialogue with Trump, while urging Washington to abandon its demands for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament as a precondition for negotiations.

On Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed “a rapid increase” in activities at nuclear manufacturing facilities in North Korea. Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Grossi stated that activities in North Korea point to “a very serious increase” in its nuclear weapons production capabilities.

His remarks reinforced the widely-held view amongst outside observers that North Korea has taken significant steps to expand its principal Yongbyon nuclear complex and construct additional uranium-enrichment sites in recent years.

Last September, South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young revealed that North Korea was operating four uranium enrichment facilities, all of which were running on a daily basis.