North launches missile on New Year’s Day

North Korea launched a missile into the East Sea less than three hours into the new year, South Korean defense officials said.

Passengers at Seoul Station watch a news broadcast about the North's missile salvo on Dec. 31. [YONHAP]

North Korea launched a missile into the East Sea less than three hours into the new year, South Korean defense officials said.

According to Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the South Korean military detected the launch of a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) by the North from the Yongsong area of Pyongyang toward the East Sea at 2:50 a.m. Sunday.

The JCS said the missile traveled a distance of 400 kilometers (249 miles). It said that the South Korean military "is maintaining full preparedness while closely cooperating with the United States and strengthening surveillance and vigilance."

The North fired three SRBMs from Junghwa County in North Hwanghae Province into the East Sea the previous day, bringing the total number of missiles fired by Pyongyang in 2022 to 70 — the highest tally for a single year.

The weekend string of North Korean missiles followed the South Korean military's successful test flight of a solid-fueled space launch vehicle on Friday. Seoul defense officials acknowledged the test only after it had already been conducted and photos of an unidentified projectile were posted to social media by residents of southern regions.

The launches have taken place amid the longest-ever plenary session of the 8th Central Committee of the North's ruling Workers' Party, which started on Dec. 26 — the day unmanned aerial vehicles from the North infiltrated South Korean airspace, triggering temporary flight disruptions at Incheon and Gimpo airports and a failed operation by South Korea's military to shoot down the drones.

Pyongyang's state media, which initially said the meeting was scheduled to end on Wednesday, has not yet said when the party meeting will terminate, but reported Saturday that the party Politburo decided to complete the session's draft resolution.

Although Pyongyang launched what it claimed was a hypersonic missile as early as Jan. 5 last year, a launch on New Year's Day is unprecedented.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]