North Korea fires ballistic missiles Oct. 12, then reports cruise missile test two days later

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Monday, October 12, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. North Korea's state media said three days later that it had test-fired two types of strategic cruise missiles on October 14.

The October 12 launch

The Kathmandu Post reported that the missiles were fired at about 9:20 a.m. local time from near Pyongyang. It said South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff described them as appearing to be of different types and said one flew more than 900 km. Japan's coast guard reported two unidentified projectiles believed to be ballistic missiles that appeared to have fallen already. The Greater Kashmir, carrying a wire report, said Japan's Defense Ministry detected at least two missiles and judged that they landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. It said the South Korean military did not immediately say how many missiles it had detected.

The Kathmandu Post reported that South Korea's National Security Office held an emergency meeting, condemned the launches as violations of UN Security Council resolutions and urged an immediate halt. It said the Joint Chiefs called the launches a show of force in response to South Korea's successful hypersonic missile test. It described the launch as North Korea's fourth in a month and its tenth-plus missile test this year.

The context

Greater Kashmir reported that South Korea flight-tested its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon the previous Friday, which President Lee Jae Myung called an important step in strengthening conventional defense capabilities. It said North Korea tested what it described as a hypersonic intermediate-range missile on October 3. Both reports say South Korea blames North Korea for land mine blasts near the border last month that wounded three South Korean soldiers, which Pyongyang denies.

The Kathmandu Post quoted Song Seong-jong, a Daejeon University professor and former South Korean defense ministry official, as saying North Korea needs to raise its standing before any meeting with President Donald Trump. Greater Kashmir reported that Kim Jong Un has rejected U.S. and South Korean offers to resume talks.

The October 14 cruise missile test

The Morung Express, citing a report, said North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported on October 15 that two types of strategic cruise missile were fired into the East Sea the previous day to examine the posture of its underwater combat systems. KCNA said the launch had no adverse effect on neighboring countries' security.

The report said experts believe the missiles were fired from the vessel North Korea calls its first tactical nuclear attack submarine, which would make it the first launch from that vessel. It said Kim did not attend. A South Korean Joint Chiefs spokesperson, Capt. Jang Do-young, said the military had tracked the missiles from before launch to the end of flight, with one fired from a vertical launching system and one from a torpedo launcher. The report said the South Korean military had not publicly disclosed the launch.