North Korea fired around 10 short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. The missiles were launched at around 12:30 p.m. local time (0330 GMT) from an area around Wonsan, a port city on North Korea's eastern coast, the JCS said in a statement reported by Reuters.

Source: Reuters

Yonhap News Agency, cited by the Seoul Economic Daily, put the number at more than 10 missiles. Reports citing South Korean and wire assessments said the projectiles flew roughly 250 kilometres before falling into the sea. Japan's Defence Ministry said an object that could be a ballistic missile fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, according to Yonhap, and Japan's Coast Guard said the projectile had already fallen into the sea.

South Korea's military said it had strengthened surveillance and was maintaining readiness in case of additional launches, while closely sharing information with the United States and Japan. The presidential National Security Office held an emergency security review meeting with defence and Joint Chiefs officials, the Seoul Economic Daily reported.

Source: Seoul Economic Daily

Seoul's presidential office said the launches violate UN Security Council resolutions, which bar North Korea from ballistic missile activity, and urged Pyongyang to halt them immediately. North Korea last fired ballistic missiles on October 12, and Reuters reported Pyongyang has conducted missile tests on more than 10 occasions this year.

A launch Seoul's talks offer did not prevent

The salvo came six days after South Korea's defence ministry proposed military talks on October 23 to confirm the exact course of the Military Demarcation Line, restore military communication lines and prevent accidental clashes along the border. North Korea has not responded to that proposal, according to South Korean officials cited in the reports.

Tensions on the peninsula have risen since a landmine blast south of the demarcation line in September injured South Korean soldiers. Seoul accused North Korea of planting the mines; Pyongyang denied responsibility, the Associated Press reported. North Korea also said last week it would restart propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts and deploy new weapons systems along the border — and South Korean residents reported test loudspeaker broadcasts on Thursday morning, Yonhap said.

There was no claim of damage from the launches in the initial reports. Analysts cited in wire coverage say such salvo launches — many missiles fired at once — are harder for missile defences to absorb than single test rounds, and the timing keeps military pressure on Seoul and Washington while diplomacy remains stalled.