North Korea launches multiple missiles toward eastern waters

North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles toward its eastern waters on Monday, South Korea’s military said, in a test detected from the Pyongyang area that added to a series of weapons demonstrations. The exact number of missiles and their flight distances were not immediately disclosed. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launches took place at about 9:20 a.m. It initially reported a projectile without specifying its type or distance, then identified the weapons as multiple ballistic missiles. Japan’s Defense Ministry said it detected at least two missiles and assessed that they landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The launch comes amid a prolonged freeze in diplomacy and follows a series of military developments on the Korean Peninsula. North Korea conducted an October 3 test of what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan. It has also held live-fire drills and commissioned a new warship, according to the reports. South Korea flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon on October 9, days before the North Korean launch.