North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of Kim Jong-un, blamed US-led military drills for worsening tensions on the Korean peninsula
2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenReutersPublished: 7:25pm, 20 Sep 2026Updated: 7:27pm, 20 Sep 2026North Korea launched two missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday, its second set of tests in roughly a week, days after Pyongyang accused the US of driving tensions on the Korean peninsula through a series of military drills.
Just three hours after launching a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) towards the East Sea, or Sea of Japan, on Sunday afternoon, North Korea fired another short-range ballistic missile, according to South Korea’s defence ministry.
If the subsequent launch is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it will mark two consecutive ballistic missile tests by North Korea within a three-hour window.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected the first test firing from the Wonsan area around 3pm, identifying the weapon as a ballistic missile. Japan’s defence ministry also said it appeared to be a ballistic missile.
