Overview
- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles from Wonsan on Wednesday morning, then fired another missile in the afternoon that flew over 700 kilometers.
- The morning volley traveled about 240 kilometers into the East Sea, following Tuesday's failed launch of a projectile from the Pyongyang area that disappeared soon after liftoff.
- Kim Yo Jong praised President Lee Jae Myung’s regret over recent civilian drone incursions as “very fortunate and wise,” but First Vice Foreign Minister Jang Kum-chol later called that message a clear warning and said the South remains the North’s “most hostile” enemy.
- Seoul convened an emergency security review, condemned the tests as violations of UN bans on North Korean ballistic launches, and raised readiness as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command reported no immediate threat and consulted allies.
- Lee said a probe tied the cross-border drone flights to a National Intelligence Service employee and an active-duty officer, and analysts say the new launches undercut his de-escalation push and keep regional forces on tighter alert.