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North Korea fires suspected ballistic missiles, Japan says

19 April 2026 04:32 (UTC +04:00)

North Korea fired suspected ballistic missiles, Japan said on Sunday, marking the ‌latest in a flurry of launches by Pyongyang to accelerate efforts to boost its military capabilities, Reuters reports.

The incident marks the North's seventh ballistic missile launch this year and its ⁠fourth in April alone.

"As the U.S. is focused on Iran, the North sees this as a golden time to upgrade their nuclear power and missile capability,” Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University, said.

Such tests violate U.N. Security Council resolutions against the North's missile programme. Pyongyang ‌rejects ⁠the U.N. ban and says it infringes its sovereign right to self-defense.

Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters the launch was multiple and appeared ⁠to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

South Korea's military said the ballistic missile flew eastward, Yonhap News ⁠Agency said, without giving details. South Korea's Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to ⁠a request for comment.