On the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, the 18th, North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs).
According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the military detected several SRBMs launched northeastward from the area around Kaechon, South Pyongan Province, at around 6:50 a.m. that day. The missiles reportedly fell into waters outside Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), according to estimates by the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The Joint Chiefs stated, "The military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches and is maintaining full readiness while closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles with the United States and Japan."
North Korea had paused ballistic missile provocations after launching SRBMs last July due to summer flood damage, but as the U.S. presidential election approaches in November, it appears to be raising the level of military demonstrations to assert its presence. Earlier, on the 12th, North Korea fired a super-large multiple rocket launcher (KN-25), an SRBM.
Notably, on the 13th, North Korea’s state media revealed for the first time a facility producing highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is used to make nuclear warheads. Unlike plutonium, whose production process is easily exposed externally, HEU can be produced covertly.
North Korea has also frequently sent anti-South Korea trash balloons this month, on the 4th to 8th, the 11th, and the 14th to 15th.
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