Overview
- North Korea, which launched the missiles on Sunday, September 20, 2026, fired two short-range ballistic missiles from Wonsan that flew roughly 450 kilometers and more than 600 kilometers toward the Sea of Japan.
- South Korea called the launches a grave violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and convened an emergency National Security Office meeting to assess responses.
- Japan's defense ministry reported the objects and later said they had apparently fallen, and Tokyo lodged an official protest while South Korea, the United States and Japan exchanged information.
- Pyongyang carried out the tests a day after Kim Yo-jong publicly rejected an IAEA resolution urging denuclearization and has repeatedly framed such launches as a response to trilateral ROK–US–Japan exercises.
- There were no reported casualties or territorial incursions and no immediate military retaliation announced, but the launches raise the risk of heightened military readiness, further diplomatic friction, and possible additional sanctions or countermeasures.