North Korea Launches Multiple Ballistic Missiles Towards Sea Amid Nuclear Worries

North Korea launched multiple short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea on Sunday, its neighbours said, days after the UN's nuclear watchdog warned that North Korea was making "very serious" advances in efforts to build nuclear weapons.The missiles fired from the North's Sinpo area flew about 140 kilometres (87 miles) each in a direction toward the country's eastern waters, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said. It said South Korea maintains a readiness to repel any provocations by North Korea and is closely exchanging information with the US and Japan.In an emergency meeting of the National Security Council, senior South Korean officials expressed concerns about North Korea's repeated ballistic missile tests and urged it to stop them immediately. Sunday's launches came hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung left the country to visit India and Vietnam.The US and Japanese militaries also said they detected the launches. The US Indo-Pacific Command said it remains committed to the defence of the US homeland and its allies in the region. Japan's Defence Ministry said Tokyo strongly protested to Pyongyang, saying the launches threaten regional and international peace and violate UN Security Council resolutions that ban any ballistic activities by North Korea.Sinpo, the launch site, is an eastern coastal city in North Korea that has a major shipyard used for building submarines.Also ReadSouth Korean President Lee to make state visits to India and VietnamDatanomics: Rupee weakens, Indian economy slips to sixth-largestpremiumJapan to provide $10 bn support to Southeast Asia to secure oil amid surgeNorth Korea's Kim Jong Un supervises missile tests from his naval destroyerKim Jong Un backs China's push for multipolar world, calls for deeper tiesSouth Korea's military was analysing whether the latest launches were made from a submarine, a land-based launcher or both platforms, according to South Korean media. Asked about where the missiles were launched, Japan's Deputy Minister of Defence Masahisa Miyazaki told reporters that Japan was analysing launch details in coordination with the US and South Korea.If the launches involved a submarine, it would mark North Korea's first submarine-launched ballistic missile test in four years.North Korea obtaining a greater ability to fire missiles from underwater would be a worrying development because it's difficult for its rivals to detect such launches in advance. Last year, North Korea unveiled a nuclear-powered submarine under construction for the first time.Sunday's launches were the latest in North Korea's run of weapons tests this year.Last week, North Korea said leader Kim Jong Un supervised missile tests from the country's destroyer. In the previous week, North Korea said it had three days of testing activities to examine ballistic missiles armed with cluster-bomb warheads and other new weapons systems. Last month, it said it tested an upgraded solid-fuel engine for missiles capable of reaching the US mainland.Kim has focused on enlarging his nuclear and missile arsenals since his high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to restore diplomacy with Kim, and the North Korean leader has recently left open the door for dialogue with Trump but urged Washington to drop demands for the North's nuclear disarmament as a precondition for talks.Trump is to travel to Beijing for a rescheduled summit with Xi Jinping in May. Some observers believe North Korea's recent testing activities were likely meant to increase its leverage in future dealings with the US, as the Trump-Xi meeting could provide a diplomatic opening with Pyongyang.On Wednesday, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said that his agency has confirmed "a rapid increase" in activities at nuclear manufacturing facilities in North Korea. Grossi told reporters in Seoul that activities in North Korea point to "a very serious increase" in its nuclear weapons production capabilities.His comments echoed a view by many outside observers that North Korea has taken steps to expand its main Yongbyon nuclear complex and build additional uranium-enrichment sites in recent years. Last September, South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said that North Korea was operating four uranium enrichment facilities and that they were running every day.