People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on April 19, 2026. North Korea test-fired multiple ballistic missiles on April 19, South Korea’s military said, the latest in a recent flurry of launches by the nuclear-armed state.
| Photo Credit: AFP

This photo provided by the North Korean government, shows what it says a test launch of new intercontinental ballistic missile “Hwasong-19” at an undisclosed stie in North Korea Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. File
| Photo Credit: AP

North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Monday (January 6, 2025) toward the East Sea, South Korea’s military said, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

“North Korea sent unknown ballistic missile towards East Sea,” South Korea’s military said.

Monday’s (January 6, 2025) launch took place while outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with some of its key ministers.

The ballistic missile launch is Pyongyang’s first this year and comes after its last in November when it test-fired what it said was its most advanced and powerful solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

That was North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine.

In response, South Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea in a show of force after Pyongyang’s salvo of missile launches.

South Korea, a vibrant democracy, has also been plunged into weeks of crisis by its sitting president Yoon Suk Seol, who declared a short-lived martial law decree on December 3.

North Korean state media last week said the South was in “chaos” and paralysed politically over an attempt by investigators to execute an arrest warrant for Yoon.

A view of a missile launcher as North Korea conducts what it says is a drill to launch a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile at an unknown location. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) condemned North Korea’s firing of at least one ballistic missile northeastward from an area near the capital Pyongyang early Thursday (October 31, 2024), which reportedly landed outside of Japan’s exclusive economic zones.

In a statement issued, MOFA reiterated its serious concerns and strongly condemned North Korea’s “wanton actions” for undermining regional peace and stability.

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Taiwan will continue to work with like-minded countries to jointly safeguard freedom, openness, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, according to the statement.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said that North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile in the northeast direction from the interior of North Korea at 6:11 a.m. (Taiwan time) Thursday.

According to Japanese media reports, the missile had a flight time of 1 hour and 26 minutes and landed outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.