North Korea fired several missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Wednesday, Nov. 4, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, according to Al Jazeera and Reuters. South Korean and U.S. authorities were still analyzing the details.
Key Highlights
- The missiles were launched from the Sondok area on North Korea’s east coast, Al Jazeera reported.
- South Korea did not say whether they were ballistic or cruise missiles, according to Jiji Press.
- Reports differ on how many recent launches there have been. Al Jazeera called it the fourth in a month, while NK News said fourth in a week.
- North Korea denied U.S. claims that it was behind a major crypto theft from Binance.
What Is Confirmed About the Launch
The JCS first reported an “unidentified projectile” at 9:52 a.m. Korea time, then confirmed multiple missiles at 11:49 a.m., according to NK News. It gave no exact launch time.
The missiles flew from Sondok, in South Hamgyong Province, toward the Sea of Japan, called the East Sea in Korea, Jiji Press reported.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were believed to have flown less than 300 kilometers, while officials continued analyzing their specifications. Yonhap reported that authorities had not publicly confirmed an exact missile count and left open the possibility that the launch involved a close-range ballistic missile.
A String of Recent Tests
On Nov. 5, North Korean state media said the country had tested a new air-defense missile system and conducted a strike drill with a long-range strategic cruise missile the previous day. Yonhap reported that this was Pyongyang’s fourth weapons test in a week. The claims about the systems’ performance came from North Korean state media and have not been independently verified.
North Korea has stepped up weapons testing this year, Al Jazeera reported. Recent tests include a submarine-launched ballistic missile, hypersonic missiles, attack drones and cluster bombs designed for ballistic missiles.
North Korea said Tuesday it had tested a new cluster warhead for strategic cruise missiles the day before, Al Jazeera said. Jiji Press reported that it also fired more than 10 rounds from a 600-mm multiple rocket launcher system. Japan, the U.S. and South Korea regard that system as short-range ballistic missiles. That report gave the day only as “Thursday,” so we have not confirmed the date.
Analysts say the testing is likely meant to build leverage for future talks with Washington, Al Jazeera reported.
The Binance Hack Dispute
Binance said Friday, Oct. 30, that hackers stole more than $6 billion, apparently the largest crypto theft on record, Al Jazeera reported. The FBI blamed North Korean hackers, attributing it to a group known as TraderTraitor.
Pyongyang denied involvement and called the FBI announcement “a trite provocation.” Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said it extended Washington’s “invariable hostile policy.” She said North Korea has “no need to sit face to face with such unreliable and hostile persons.”
Diplomatic Backdrop
President Donald Trump said in August he plans to meet Kim Jong Un later this year, according to Al Jazeera. Talks between the two collapsed in 2019.
In October, the U.S., South Korea and Japan reiterated a call for “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean Peninsula, the outlet said.
What Remains Unclear
The type and number of missiles are not public yet. It is not established whether the launch was linked to the Binance dispute. The FBI’s attribution is a U.S. claim that Pyongyang rejects.
We have not independently verified any claim in this article. For more world coverage, see our report on the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta.
Sources: Yonhap News Agency (Nov. 5); Al Jazeera / Reuters (Nov. 4); NK News (Nov. 4); Jiji Press via Nippon.com (Nov. 4); News Today (Nov. 5).