North Korea launched multiple unidentified ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from the Sinpo area on its east coast at around 6:10 a.m. local time Sunday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff announced. The launches occurred earlier in the afternoon Eastern Daylight Time on Saturday, prompting South Korea's presidential office to convene an emergency National Security Council meeting.

South Korea's military detected the missiles and is conducting a detailed analysis of their type and trajectory while bolstering vigilance against additional launches. It is sharing real-time information with the United States and Japan to maintain a complete readiness posture. Japan's government confirmed the launches via social media, stating the missiles appeared to have fallen near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula without entering Japan's exclusive economic zone.

This marks North Korea's seventh ballistic missile launch in 2026 and its fourth this month, following multiple short-range ballistic missiles fired on April 8 and an unidentified projectile on April 7 that showed abnormal flight behavior early in its trajectory. The April 8 launches involved several missiles from the Wonsan area, with flights estimated at 240 kilometers and over 700 kilometers.

The tests violate multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea's ballistic missile activity, which Pyongyang dismisses as an infringement on its right to self-defense. Experts suggest the timing coincides with U.S. attention diverted to conflicts in the Middle East, providing Pyongyang an opportunity to advance its nuclear and missile programs. "As the U.S. is focused on Iran, the North sees this as a golden time to upgrade its nuclear power and missile capability," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University.

In late March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared the country's nuclear-armed status irreversible and emphasized expanding its nuclear deterrent for national security. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported on April 15 that North Korea has made "very serious" advances in nuclear weapons production, including a probable new uranium enrichment facility.

The launches come ahead of a planned mid-May summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, where North Korea is expected to be a key topic. South Korea, the United States and Japan have intensified joint military exercises and intelligence sharing in response to North Korea's accelerating weapons tests this year.,