North Korea launches SRBM over maritime border with South

The Japanese MoD graphic shows the trajectory of two of the SRBMs launched by North Korea on 2 November. One of these missiles flew over North Korea's maritime border with South Korea for the first time. (Japan MoD)

North Korea launched about 10 missiles on 2 November, including three short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), one of which flew across its de facto maritime border with South Korea. Seoul responded by firing three air-to-surface missiles back across the offshore boundary.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) Armed Forces said the SRBM that landed in South Korea's territory was the first that North Korea has launched across the border since the division of the Korean peninsula in 1945.

According to the RoK Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the SRBMs – probably a variant of North Korea's KN-23 SRBM – were launched from near North Korea's eastern coastal city of Wonsan at nearly 0900 h local time. Details about the types of other missiles launched by North Korea had not yet been confirmed at the time of publication.

“North Korea's missile launch, which marks the first time since the division of the peninsula that [a North Korean missile] has landed near our territorial waters south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), is very rare and intolerable,” said the JCS. “Our military vowed to respond firmly.”

Citing the JCS, news reports in South Korea said the SRBM fell about 26 km south of the NLL, about 57 km east of South Korea's eastern city of Sokcho and 167 km northwest of Ulleung island.