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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was reported to have paid a visit to a key munitions factory on Jan. 3, 2026, where he gave instructions to increase production of tactical guided weapons. (KCNA/Yonhap)

North Korea fired ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday morning, in what was presumably a response both to South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s visit to China that same day, and the US’ surprise attack on Venezuela the previous day.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff told the press that North Korea had launched multiple ballistic missiles from Pyongyang toward the East Sea (also called the Sea of Japan) around 7:50 am on Sunday morning. The missiles reportedly traveled for 900 kilometers.

The Joint Chiefs described the missiles as being short-range ones, raising the possibility that they represent the Hwasong-11Ma class of hypersonic missile.

This was the third ballistic missile launch since Lee’s inauguration as president in June 2025, following previous launches on Oct. 2 and Nov. 7. Including non-ballistic missiles, a long-range strategic cruise missile was launched during military exercises on Dec. 28, seven days ago.

North Korea is prohibited from launching ballistic missiles under UN Security Council Resolution No. 1874, which was adopted on June 12, 2009.

The National Security Office at the Blue House called on North Korea Sunday to halt “provocative actions that violate UN Security Council resolutions.”

It is notable that this ballistic missile launch took place just before Lee was scheduled to depart for his state trip to China. The launch can be taken as indicating North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s displeasure that Chinese President Xi Jinping began his year’s summit diplomacy with South Korea, which Kim condemns as a hostile state.

Earlier, North Korea’s state-run newspaper, the Rodong Sinmu,n printed the New Year’s greetings exchanged by Kim and Russian President Vladimir Putin in their entirety on the front page. But the New Year’s greeting from Xi was briefly covered on page five, along with greetings from other countries’ leaders, without any description of Xi’s message.

It may also be significant that this ballistic missile launch comes after the shocking arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a surprise raid by US special operations forces.

While North Korea had not made an official response to Maduro’s arrest as of Sunday afternoon, the ballistic missile launch could be taken as a show of force implying that North Korea, as a nuclear-armed state, will not be intimidated.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer; Park Min-hee, senior staff writer

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