North Korea ⁠fired an unidentified projectile off the country’s west coast on ‌Tuesday (May 26, 2026), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff ‌said in a ‌statement.

If ⁠confirmed as a missile ⁠launch, it would be the first since April 19, when ​North Korea ‌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.

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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.