North Korea fired at least one short-range ballistic missile and other weapons into the Yellow Sea this week, according to the South Korean military.
The missile flew about 50 miles toward the body of water that separates the Korean Peninsula and China, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday. It was North Korea’s eighth ballistic missile launch this year, South Korean media reported.
Tensions have brewed in the region for years, after the two halves of the peninsula split decades ago, with South Korea turning toward democracy, and North Korea embracing communism. The latest demonstrations of military power are significant, as North Korea has nuclear weapons and is led by a dictator whom the United States and other allies fear could use them against the world. Washington and Seoul notably share a military pact designed to protect South Korea against aggression from North Korea.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s military said Seoul remains ready to repel any provocations by North Korea, citing its alliance with the U.S.
President Donald Trump has sought to emphasize building a personal relationship with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un as a means of easing concerns. Trump made history during his first term when he became the first sitting U.S. president to visit North Korea, shaking hands with Kim in 2019.
“We have no reason not to get along with the United States if it respects our country’s current status, as defined in the North Korean constitution, and drops its hostile policy toward North Korea,” Kim reportedly said in late February at the Ninth Congress of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea. “The prospects of North Korea-U.S. relations entirely depend on the attitude of the U.S.”
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The weapons launch on Tuesday marked North Korea’s first such exercise since April 19, when it fired multiple short-range missiles, prompting South Korea to convene an emergency National Security Council meeting.
Pyongyang has carried out similar demonstrations repeatedly in recent months, including in October 2025, less than two weeks before the leaders from around the world were set to meet at a summit in South Korea.