North Korea fires multiple missiles as Japanese foreign minister visits Seoul

Takeshi Iwaya in South Korea for talks on trilateral cooperation with US

North Korea test-fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards its east coast on Tuesday, the South Korean military said, escalating tensions in the region a week before Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

The missiles were launched at about 9.30am local time from Kanggye in the Jagang province and flew 250km before splashing down into the East Sea, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It was Pyongyang’s second missile test this year after leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile on 6 January that struck a target around 1,100km away.

"We strongly condemn the launch as a clear provocation that seriously threatens the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

It warned the North against "misjudging" the situation and vowed to "overwhelmingly respond" to any additional provocation.

The latest missile test coincided with Takeshi Iwaya’s visit, the first by a Japanese foreign minister in seven years, to Seoul for talks on trilateral cooperation with the US.

Mr Iwaya met his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae Yul on Monday. He condemned the North’s nuclear and missile development, and pledged to boost security ties with Seoul.

The test came less than a week before the inauguration of Mr Trump’s second term. In his first term from 2016 to 2020, Mr Trump sought to mend relations with Pyongyang, holding summits with Mr Kim and touting their personal rapport.

South Korean lawmakers briefed by the National Intelligence Service claimed that North Korea’s recent weapons tests were partly aimed at "showing off its US deterrent assets and drawing Trump’s attention" after Mr Kim vowed to initiate "the toughest anti-US counteraction" at a key year-end policy meeting last month.

Pyongyang is showcasing its advanced military capabilities while the South remains mired in a political crisis sparked by president Yoon Suk Yeol’s shortlived declaration of martial law on 3 December.

Mr Yoon has since been impeached and suspended. He is being investigated for insurrection and faces the prospect of arrest and even removal from office.

South Korea’s defence minister and military commanders have also been arrested and tried for their alleged involvement in the imposition of martial law.