North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles on Wednesday (April 8, 2026), adding to a launch a day earlier, South Korea’s military said, extending a series of tests that have strained hopes in Seoul for easing tensions, Reuters reported. The development comes at a time when global attention remains on fragile security balances across regions, after Iran-US’ two-week truce announcement.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said North Korea fired an additional unidentified missile at around 2:20 p.m. (0520 GMT) on Wednesday from the Wonsan area towards waters off its east coast. The missile flew about 700 km (435 miles).
Earlier on Wednesday, North Korea launched several unidentified short-range ballistic missiles also from near the same area. The missiles flew about 240 km (150 miles), with South Korean and U.S. authorities conducting a detailed analysis. The military had also detected the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from near Pyongyang on Tuesday (April 7, 2026).
How did South Korea and Japan respond?
South Korea’s presidential Blue House convened an emergency National Security Council meeting on Wednesday, calling the earlier launches a provocation that violated UN Security Council resolutions, news agency Reuters reported, and urged Pyongyang to end such tests.
The Japan Coast Guard said the latest missile fell into the sea about 10 minutes after launch, adding that no missiles entered Japan’s territorial waters or exclusive economic zone. Pyongyang’s actions “threaten peace and security in the region and the international community,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said.
Japan’s PMO also tweeted about the instructions given by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in response to the missile launch by North Korea, dedicating maximum effort to gather and analyse all information, and provide the public with information in a timely and appropriate manner; ensuring the safety of aircraft, vessels, and other assets.
What do we know about missile performance?
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing military officials, the projectile launched on Tuesday was probably a ballistic missile that flew eastwards before showing signs of an abnormality early in flight and disappearing.
The incidents mark North Korea’s fourth, fifth and sixth ballistic missile launches this year, following earlier launches in January and March.
Why do these launches violate international norms?
South Korea typically announces North Korean ballistic missile launches promptly, as such tests violate UN Security Council resolutions against the North’s missile programme. However, Pyongyang rejects the UN ban, saying it infringes its sovereign right to self-defence.
The missile launches could reflect routine weapons development and may be linked “to ongoing engine and propulsion testing, including work on solid-fuel systems,” Reuters quoted Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, as saying. Pyongyang has been seeking to upgrade its strike capability with solid-fuel missiles, which are easier and safer to operate and require less logistical support than liquid-fuelled weapons.
The two Koreas remain technically at war, with their 1950–53 conflict ending only in a truce.