North Korea fires missiles toward sea after ridiculing South's hopes for
better ties
[April 09, 2026]
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea fired multiple short-range
ballistic missiles toward the sea Wednesday in its second launch event
in two days, South Korea’s military said, hours after a senior North
Korean official released crude insults against Seoul’s hopes for warmer
relations.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said several missiles lifted off
from North Korea’s eastern coastal Wonsan area on Wednesday morning and
flew about 240 kilometers (150 miles) each in a direction toward the
North’s eastern waters.
It said an additional North Korean ballistic missile fired later
Wednesday traveled more than 700 kilometers off the North’s east coast.
Japan’s Defense Ministry said it assesses that the missile fell in
waters outside the country’s exclusive economic zone.
South Korea’s military said it maintains a readiness to repel any
provocations by North Korea under a solid military alliance with the
United States. It earlier said it detected the launch of an unidentified
projectile from North Korea’s capital region on Tuesday.
South Korean media reported the projectile, also likely a ballistic
missile, disappeared from South Korean military radars after displaying
an abnormal development in the initial launch stage. This indicated the
launch ended in failure, according to the reports.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the North Korean
launches had not posed any immediate threat to U.S. personnel or
territory, or to allies.
The back-to-back launches came after North Korea made it clear that it
has no intentions of improving ties with South Korea, whose liberal
government has steadfastly expressed its hopes to restore long-dormant
dialogue.
South Korea would always remain North Korea's “most hostile enemy
state,” Jang Kum Chol, first vice minister at Pyongyang’s Foreign
Ministry, said on Tuesday. He derided South Korea as “world-startling
fools” engaged in wishful thinking over a recent statement by Kim Yo
Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
After South Korean President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over alleged
civilian drone flights into North Korea, Kim Yo Jong on Monday praised
him for what she called honesty and courage, but reiterated a threat to
retaliate if such flights recur. South Korean officials responded by
describing Kim’s statement as meaningful progress in relations.
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A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch
during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South
Korea, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Jang said her statement was intended as a warning. He cited Kim Yo Jong
as calling South Korea “the dogs affected by mange that blindly bark to
the tune of neighboring dogs” as she criticized it for recently
co-sponsoring of a U.N. resolution on the North’s purported human rights
violations.
North Korea has refused to return to talks with South Korea and the U.S.
and pushed to expand its nuclear arsenal since Kim Jong Un’s diplomacy
with U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. North Korea has
instead sought to strengthen ties with Russia, China and other countries
embroiled in confrontations with the U.S. Last September, Kim Jong Un
traveled to Beijing to attend a military parade alongside other foreign
leaders and held his first summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in
six years.
North Korean media reported on Wednesday that Chinese Foreign Minister
Wang Yi will visit North Korea on Thursday for a two-day trip.
Earlier this week, North Korea said Kim Jong Un had observed a test of
an upgraded solid-fuel engine for weapons and called it a significant
development boosting his country’s strategic military arsenal.
Missiles with built-in solid propellants are easier to move and conceal
their launches than liquid-fuel weapons, which in general must be fueled
before liftoffs and cannot last long.
South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Monday the engine test was
likely related to an effort to build a more powerful solid-fuel
intercontinental ballistic missile that can carry multiple nuclear
warheads, according to lawmakers who attended the meeting.
Experts say North Korea wants multi-warhead missiles to penetrate U.S.
missile defenses, but they doubt Pyongyang has mastered the technology
needed to acquire such a weapon.
—
AP journalists Mari Yamaguchi and Mayuko Ono contributed from Tokyo.
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