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

The missile test comes as President Lee Jae Myung arrives in Beijing to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, their second in two months.Published On 4 Jan 2026North Korea has launched multiple ballistic missiles off its east coast into the sea as South Korea’s leader begins a state visit to China in its first barrage of the new year.According to South Korea’s military, the missiles launched at about 7:50am on Sunday (22:50 GMT on Saturday) flew about 900km (560 miles).Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3N Korea, Russia bound in ‘blood’ of war, Kim tells Putin in New Year notelist 2 of 3S Korea’s ex-first lady accused of taking bribes, meddling in state affairslist 3 of 3South Korea announces end to controversial bear bile farmingend of listThe military added that the country, as well as the United States, was “closely analysing the specifications” while “maintaining a full readiness posture”.In a statement, the US forces for the Asia Pacific said the missile launches did not pose an “immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies”.Japan also reported that at least two missiles had reached distances of 900km (560 miles) and 950km (590 miles).“North Korea’s nuclear and missile development threatens the peace and stability of our country and the international society, and is absolutely intolerable,” Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi told reporters.The last time Pyongyang tested its ballistic missiles was on November 7.According to North Korean state media, leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday called for the doubling of production capacity of tactical guided weapons while visiting a munitions factory.In recent weeks, Kim has visited a series of weapons factories and a nuclear-powered submarine, overseeing missile tests in advance of the ninth party congress of the Workers’ Party, which will take place later this year and set out key policy goals.Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, told the Reuters news agency the launches from Pyongyang represented “a message to China to deter closer ties with South Korea and to counter China’s stance on denuclearisation”.