(Bloomberg) -- North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles Wednesday, displaying military hardware it has been suspected of sending to Russia in a test that came soon after it dispatched its foreign minister to Moscow.
North Korea fired multiple missiles starting around 6:50 a.m. toward waters off its east coast that flew about 400 kilometers (250 miles), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a message sent to reporters. Japan’s Coast Guard said separately at least two ballistic missiles were fired and they landed outside of the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The flight path was similar to the observed trajectories for a family of short-range ballistic missiles known as Hwasong-11, a wide class of rockets that weapons experts say can reliably hit targets with a high degree of precision.
South Korea condemned the launch as “a provocative act” and said it’s sharing information with the US and Japan as the three analyze the test, the JCS said. North Korea usually does not comment on its missile launches until the following day.
About a day before firing off the missiles, North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui left for Russia, making her second trip in less than a year to the major backer of Kim’s regime. The foreign minister who rarely travels abroad last went to Moscow in January, when she held talks with President Vladimir Putin in a meeting the US and its partners saw as facilitating arms shipments from North Korea to aid the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine.
After arriving in Moscow on her current trip, Choe held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the “comprehensive strategic partnership” between the two countries, the Tass news agency reported. There are no plans for Choe to meet Putin during this visit, Tass said.
Kim’s regime may be looking for support as it readies for a parliamentary meeting on Oct. 7 that is set to approve measures seen as raising tensions with South Korea.
At the session, the rubber stamp parliament known as the Supreme People’s Assembly is expected to formalize changes to its constitution. At the last SPA meeting in January, Kim called for removing the concept of “peaceful reunification” with South Korea from the document and asserting authority near a contested nautical border that has been a scene of armed conflict.
South Korea and the US have accused Kim of sending millions of rounds of artillery shells and scores of ballistic missiles to Russia to aid the Kremlin. Recent weapons tests by Kim’s regime are likely demonstrations for Putin of armaments that he can use in his assault on Ukraine, officials in Seoul have said.
In exchange for the arms, Russia has sent aid that has propped up North Korea’s economy and helped Kim advance his weapons programs, Seoul and Washington have said. Pyongyang and Moscow have denied the accusations despite ample evidence showing the arms transfers taking place.
North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast nearly a week ago. It released images of the launch and the missiles appeared to be similar to rockets that weapons experts said were used by the Kremlin to attack Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military intelligence chief has said supplies of North Korean ammunition to Moscow have been causing major headaches for his country’s defense, as Russia’s full-scale invasion grinds through its third year.
The support from Russia has coincided with Kim taking a tougher stance toward Seoul and Washington.
Kim raised security concerns when he hosted Putin in Pyongyang in mid-June, where the two countries reached a deal to come to the other’s aid if attacked. The North Korean leader also pledged to “unconditionally support” Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
--With assistance from Se Young Lee, Soo-Hyang Choi and Myungshin Cho.
(Updates with Lavrov meeting, details on missile.)
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