SEOUL – North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles into the sea on March 18 for the first time in two months, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for a conference hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol on advancing democracy.

South Korea’s military said several short-range missiles flew about 300km after being fired between 7.44am and 8.22am from Pyongyang, the North’s capital, landing off the east coast.

It condemned the launches as a “clear provocation” and said it was sharing information on them with the United States and Japan.

The US State Department also condemned the launches, saying they violated several United Nations Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to the region.

Japan’s Defence Ministry said three missiles were launched and travelled about 350km, with a maximum altitude of 50km.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida condemned the launches after his country’s coast guard also reported the firing of what it said appeared to be a ballistic missile and noted that it had already ended its flight.

“North Korea’s series of actions threaten the peace and security of our region and the international community, and are absolutely unacceptable,” Mr Kishida said, calling the launch a violation of UN resolutions.

South Korea’s defence minister, Mr Shin Won-sik, said the North has been testing a new type of short-range missile in recent weeks, and Seoul and Washington are monitoring whether those weapons were meant to be sent to Russia.

“It is unclear whether the missiles are for front-line reinforcement or exports to Russia,” he told a news conference. “But there is a significant possibility that they were making final performance checks before exporting them to Russia.”

Mr Shin said North Korea has shipped at least 7,000 containers of mostly munitions to Russia since July to support its war against Ukraine. He had put the number at around 6,700 in late February.

The North has received fuel and food supplies in return, which appear to have temporarily eased shortages and other economic difficulties since late 2023, Mr Shin added.

North Korea’s military has been conducting exercises using conventional weapons in recent weeks, often personally overseen by the isolated state’s leader Kim Jong Un.

The show of force by Pyongyang comes as the militaries of South Korea and the US finished 10 days of large-scale annual joint military drills on March 14.

On March 17, the South Korean military also mobilised marines, attack helicopters and amphibious assault vehicles in drills aimed at surging troop numbers to reinforce western islands near the sea border with North Korea.

The North shelled the islands in 2010.

Mr Blinken is among senior officials from around the world attending the Summit for Democracy conference, which opened on March 18.

He will also meet his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul.

The summit is an initiative of US President Joe Biden aimed at discussing ways to stop democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide.

In its last ballistic launch on Jan 14, North Korea fired what it said was an intermediate-range hypersonic missile using solid fuel to test new booster engines and a manoeuvrable warhead.

In February, it launched multiple cruise missiles off its east coast, including what it said was a new anti-ship missile. REUTERS