1000km Ballistic Missile Launch by North Korea Triggers Immediate U.S.-South Korea Coordination

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) announced on Thursday, “At around 7:10 a.m. today, our military detected a long-range ballistic missile launched by North Korea from the Pyongyang area toward the East Sea.”

According to the JCS, the missile was fired at a high angle and traveled roughly 1,000 kilometers before landing in the East Sea. The South Korean military, in close coordination with U.S. forces, had been monitoring North Korea’s missile launch preparations.

South Korea, the U.S., and Japan established a joint readiness posture to detect and track the launch, with real-time information on the missile shared among the three nations. The JCS stated, “Immediately following North Korea’s missile launch, we shared intelligence in a coordination meeting with the U.S., reinforcing our commitment to strengthen our combined defense stance against any threats or provocations from North Korea.”

According to military authorities, the defense ministers of South Korea and the U.S. agreed to implement various countermeasures, including joint exercises involving the deployment of U.S. strategic assets, to showcase the alliance’s resolve to respond.

The JCS condemned the missile launch, asserting, “North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile launch is a serious provocation that threatens peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community. This action clearly violates UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting the use of ballistic missile technology and scientific cooperation.”

The JCS emphasized, “Our military, under the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, will maintain a vigilant watch over North Korea’s activities and retain the capabilities and readiness to respond overwhelmingly to any provocation.”