# North Korea fires missiles after South's hypersonic test

> North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles on Monday, its fourth launch in a month, days after South Korea publicly tested a hypersonic weapon.
- Title: North Korea fires missiles after South's hypersonic test
- Summary: North Korea launched multiple ballistic missiles on Monday, its fourth launch in a month, days after South Korea publicly tested a hypersonic weapon. North…
- Keywords: north korea, south korea, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missile, kim jong un, lee jae myung, east sea, missile test, news, politics, North, Korea
- Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-12-north-korea-fires-missiles-days-after-south-koreas-hypersonic-test
- Author: Reuters
- Published: 2026-10-12T04:38:06+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: north korea, south korea, ballistic missiles, hypersonic missile, kim jong un, lee jae myung, east sea, missile test, news, politics
## North Korea launches ballistic missiles
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Monday at around nine twenty a.m. local time from near Pyongyang, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
## Fourth launch in a month
The missiles appeared to be of different types, with one flying more than nine hundred kilometres. This marks Pyongyang's fourth launch in a month, following a test on October three.
## Response to South's hypersonic test
Last week, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the country's first test-firing of a hypersonic missile. A South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson said Monday's launches were a show of force in response.

> a show of force in response to the successful test launch of our hypersonic missile, as well as an intentional demonstration of missile capabilities
## Building leverage before Trump talks
Song Seong-jong, a professor at Daejeon University and former South Korean Defence Ministry official, said North Korea wants to increase its leverage ahead of potential talks between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald…

> They definitely need to raise the value of their status before meeting Trump
## Key takeaway

North Korea fired ballistic missiles toward its east coast on October twelve, the fourth launch in a month, in what Seoul said was a response to South Korea's recent hypersonic missile test.