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South Korean Ministry of National Defense

South Korean Ministry of National Defense

Government Agency

Appears in 1 story

Stories

North Korea's opening salvo: missiles, summits, and power plays

Force in Play

Monitoring North Korean missile development and coordinating alliance with U.S.

North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles on January 4, 2026, hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for Beijing to meet Xi Jinping. The missiles—traveling 900-950 kilometers at 50-kilometer altitudes—were Pyongyang's first weapons test of 2026 and a clear signal to both Seoul and its Chinese patron: don't make deals without us. Just hours before the launch, Kim Jong Un visited a tactical weapons factory and ordered production capacity expanded by 250 percent to meet 2026's "anticipated requirements."

Updated Jan 4