North Korea launches flurry of short-range ballistic missiles

SEOUL, May 8 (UPI) -- North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into the sea between Korea and Japan on Thursday morning, Seoul's military said, in what officials characterized as a potential weapons test ahead of export to Russia.

In a text message to reporters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the launch of multiple short-range ballistic missiles of various types from the Wonsan area, on the peninsula's east coast, between 8:10 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. KST. The missiles flew roughly 500 miles before landing in the East Sea.

"We have closely shared relevant information with the U.S. and Japan and are comprehensively analyzing the detailed specifications," the JCS said. "North Korea's missile launch is a blatant provocative act that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and we strongly condemn it."

The South Korean and U.S. militaries are maintaining a defense posture to "overwhelmingly respond to any provocation," the JCS added.

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At a briefing later in the morning, JCS spokesman Col. Lee Sung-jun did not specify the number of missiles launched, but said they were fired from mobile launchers and may have been modeled after the Russian Iskander system. He added that the weapons test was potentially connected to an arms export to Russia.

"We are assessing that it may have been a performance check for some exports or an experiment to evaluate flight stability," Lee told reporters.

The launch came one day after North Korean state media reported on a visit by leader Kim Jong Un to a munitions factory, where he called for workers to boost their output of artillery shells. Seoul and Washington say that North Korea has supplied missiles, artillery and soldiers to Russia for its war against Ukraine, while receiving much-needed financial support and advanced military technology in return.

After denying its involvement for months, Pyongyang late last month acknowledged for the first time that it is sending troops to Russia.

South Korean lawmakers, citing a briefing from Seoul's spy agency, said last week that around 600 North Korean troops have been killed and another 4,100 injured fighting for Russia on the frontlines of the Kursk region.

Thursday's launch was the North's first in nearly two months. Pyongyang fired multiple close-range ballistic missiles on March 10, coinciding with the start of major U.S.-South Korea joint military drills.