North Korea fired several rounds of short-range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea (Sea of Japan) on Monday, Seoul’s military stated.

Yonhap News Agency reported that the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected what appeared to be several short-range ballistic missiles launched from the Pyongyang region at 3:01 p.m. It did not provide further details, citing an ongoing analysis.

This marks the North’s first ballistic missile launch since it test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead on April 2.

On Friday, Pyongyang said it conducted a “super-large warhead” power test for a strategic cruise missile and test-fired a new anti-aircraft missile in the Yellow Sea.

North Korea has been ramping up weapon tests this year, including the launch of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles with a hypersonic controllable warhead and firing drills involving super-large multiple rocket launchers.

The South Korean military is monitoring the situation closely, as North Ko
rea was believed to be preparing to place a second spy satellite into space after its first launch in November.

Source: Kuwait News Agency