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South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the short-range
ballistic missiles were fired from a northern inland area and
flew about 250 kilometers (155 miles) before landing in waters
between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
The joint chiefs said the South Korean military has strengthened
surveillance while sharing the launch information with the U.S.
and Japanese militaries. It said it strongly condemns the test,
describing it as a “clear provocation" that poses a serious
threat to the region's peace and stability.
It was North Korea’s second launch event of 2025, following a
ballistic launch last week.
North Korea said the Jan. 6 test was a new hypersonic
intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote targets in
the Pacific as leader Kim Jong Un vowed to further expand his
collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations.
North Korea is coming off a torrid year in weapons testing. The
systems it demonstrated in 2024 included solid-fuel
intercontinental ballistic missiles designed to strike the U.S.
mainland and various shorter-range missiles designed to
overwhelm missile defenses in South Korea. There concerns that
its military capabilities could advance further through
technology transfers from Russia, as the two countries align
over the war in Ukraine.
At a year-end political conference, Kim vowed to implement the
“toughest” anti-U.S. policy and criticized the Biden
administration’s efforts to strengthen security cooperation with
Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as a “nuclear military bloc
for aggression.”
North Korean state media did not specify Kim’s policy plans or
mention any specific comments about Trump. During his first term
as president, Trump met Kim three times for talks on the North’s
nuclear program.
Even if Trump returns to the White House, a quick resumption of
diplomacy with North Korea could be unlikely. Kim’s strengthened
position — built on his expanded nuclear arsenal, deepening
alliance with Russia and the weakening enforcement of U.S.
international sanctions — presents new challenges to resolving
the nuclear standoff, experts say.
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