North Korea launched ballistic missiles towards the sea on Sunday, its neighbours said, just hours before South Korea’s president was due to leave for talks in China expected to cover North Korea’s nuclear programme. South Korea’s joint chiefs of staff said in a statement that they detected several ballistic missile launches from North Korea’s capital region at about 7.50am local time. They said the missiles flew about 560 miles (900km) and that South Korea and US authorities were analysing details of the launches. View image in fullscreen News of the missile launch on a screen at station in Seoul in South Korea on Sunday. Lee hopes to harness China’s clout over North Korea to support his attempt to improve ties with Pyongyang.

Source: The Guardian January 04, 2026 16:21 UTC