South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the first missile was detected at around 3 p.m. local time from the Wonsan area and flew roughly 450 kilometers into the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. The second launch, detected at approximately 5:50 p.m., flew more than 600 kilometers. Both are presumed to be from the Hwasong-11 series, according to analysts cited by The Diplomat. South Korean and U.S. authorities are conducting detailed analysis to determine the exact specifications, the JCS said.
The launches prompted immediate responses from South Korea and Japan. South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting, and the government called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile launches, calling them a "grave act" that violated UN Security Council resolutions. Japan lodged a "stern protest," condemning the launches as a threat to regional peace and security, according to Kyodo news agency.
The September 20 firings follow a launch on September 12, when North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles from the same area as part of what it described as a "joint firepower drill," with state media reporting the weapons "hit the targets with 100 per cent accuracy." That was the first launch in 23 days.
The latest launches come amid heightened tensions over allied military exercises. Two days before the firing, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said North Korea must answer U.S.-led drills such as the Pacific Vanguard naval exercise near Guam with measures at least as forceful. She also said the country's nuclear buildup would not change. A day earlier, Kim Jong Un had rejected renewed calls for denuclearization at an International Atomic Energy Agency conference. A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution had "no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state," adding that its nuclear status was "irreversibly and permanently fixed by the supreme law of the state."
The launches also come at a diplomatically sensitive time. U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are scheduled to hold a summit on September 24 in Washington, D.C. — Xi's first visit to the U.S. capital in 10 years and his first official state visit since 2015. This week also marks the start of the United Nations General Assembly.