North Korea fires missiles towards sea as South Korean leader visits China

The rocket trial comes arsenic President Lee Jae Myung arrives successful Beijing to conscionable his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, their 2nd successful 2 months.

North Korea has launched aggregate ballistic missiles disconnected its eastbound seashore into the oversea arsenic South Korea’s person begins a authorities sojourn to China successful its archetypal barrage of the caller year.

According to South Korea’s military, the missiles launched astatine astir 7:50am connected Sunday (22:50 GMT connected Saturday) flew astir 900km (560 miles).

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3N Korea, Russia bound successful ‘blood’ of war, Kim tells Putin successful New Year note
• list 2 of 3S Korea’s ex-first woman accused of taking bribes, meddling successful authorities affairs
• list 3 of 3South Korea announces extremity to arguable carnivore bile farming

The subject added that the country, arsenic good arsenic the United States, was “closely analysing the specifications” portion “maintaining a afloat readiness posture”.

In a statement, the US forces for the Asia Pacific said the rocket launches did not airs an “immediate menace to US unit oregon territory, oregon to our allies”.

Japan besides reported that astatine slightest 2 missiles had reached distances of 900km (560 miles) and 950km (590 miles).

“North Korea’s atomic and rocket improvement threatens the bid and stableness of our state and the planetary society, and is perfectly intolerable,” Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters.

The past clip Pyongyang tested its ballistic missiles was connected November 7.

According to North Korean authorities media, person Kim Jong Un connected Saturday called for the doubling of accumulation capableness of tactical guided weapons portion visiting a munitions factory.

In caller weeks, Kim has visited a bid of weapons factories and a nuclear-powered submarine, overseeing rocket tests successful beforehand of the ninth enactment legislature of the Workers’ Party, which volition instrumentality spot aboriginal this twelvemonth and acceptable retired cardinal argumentation goals.

Lim Eul-chul, a prof astatine the Institute for Far Eastern Studies successful Seoul, told the Reuters quality bureau the launches from Pyongyang represented “a connection to China to deter person ties with South Korea and to antagonistic China’s stance connected denuclearisation”.

Lim added that it was North Korea sending a connection of spot that they were antithetic from Venezuela, aft the US launched a bid of attacks connected Saturday and “captured” President Nicolas Maduro.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and his woman Kim Hye-kyung bow astatine Seoul airbase arsenic they permission for Beijing, successful Seongnam, South Korea, connected January 3, 2026 [Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters]

China visit

On Sunday morning, Chinese authorities broadcaster CCTV reported that South Korean President Lee Jae Myung had arrived successful Beijing connected a four-day visit.

Lee, accompanied by much than 200 South Korean concern leaders, is expected to sermon proviso concatenation investment, the integer system and taste exchanges.

The South Korean person volition conscionable his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, for their 2nd gathering successful conscionable 2 months. According to analysts, the abbreviated frequence of the meetings signals Beijing’s involvement successful expanding economical collaboration and tourism.

Seoul has said bid connected the Korean Peninsula would beryllium connected the docket during the Beijing trip.

Lee’s travel comes astatine a clip of heightened tensions betwixt China and Japan aft Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said successful November that her country’s subject could get progressive if China were to instrumentality enactment against Taiwan.

Before his trip, Lee gave an interrogation to CCTV, successful which helium assured that South Korea consistently respects the “One-China” argumentation erstwhile it comes to Taiwan. He said the steadfast improvement of Beijing-Seoul relations depends connected communal respect. Lee besides praised Xi arsenic a “truly reliable neighbour”.