North Korea fired several missiles, South Korean military says

SEOUL: North Korea fired ​several missiles including at least one short-range ‌ballistic missile toward waters off the country’s west coast on Tuesday, South Korea’s military said.

The missiles were launched at around ​1 p.m. (0400 GMT) from Chongju in North Korea’s North ​Pyongan Province, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of ⁠Staff said in a statement.

It is North Korea’s ​first known missile launch since April 19, when the ​country test-fired several short-range ballistic missiles, which it said were equipped with cluster bombs.

In early April, Pyongyang also said it tested ​a new cluster-bomb warhead on a ballistic ​missile and an electromagnetic weapon, in a move that analysts ‌said ⁠was part of efforts to showcase the North’s capacity to fight a modern war.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in March that his country’s ​status as ​a nuclear-armed ⁠state was irreversible and that expanding a “self-defensive nuclear deterrent” was essential to national ​security.

Despite U.N. sanctions on its nuclear ​weapons and ⁠ballistic missile programs since 2006, North Korea has accelerated efforts in recent years to build up ⁠its ​arsenal under Kim, drawing condemnation from ​South Korea, Japan and the United States.