North Korea fires ballistic missiles into the sea: "Unlike Iran, we have self-defense capabilities"

North Korea fired ballistic missiles into the sea on Sunday, accelerating its missile launches amid tensions over war with Iran and talk of possible meetings with the United States and South Korea, Reuters reported.

Pyongyang's intense missile activity - this was the fourth such launch this month and the seventh this year - is aimed at demonstrating its self-defense capabilities while gaining an international negotiating advantage, some experts believe.

"The missile launches may be a way to show that - unlike Iran - we have self-defense capabilities," said Kim Ki-jung, a former national security adviser to South Korean President Kim Jong-un.

"The North also appears to be preemptively applying pressure and demonstrating force before engaging in dialogue with the United States and South Korea," he said.

War with Iran and Trump's visit loom over launches

The seven-week US-Israeli war against Iran, one of the goals of which is to curb Tehran's nuclear program, could further strengthen Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, experts and former South Korean officials say.

US President Donald Trump, who is preparing for a summit in China next month, and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung have repeatedly expressed interest in talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. There are no publicly known plans for any meetings.

Lee recently expressed regret to the North over drone incursions from the South, which drew rare praise from Pyongyang.

The missiles were fired near the city of Sinpo on North Korea's east coast toward the sea at around 6:10 a.m. local time (23:10 p.m. CET on Saturday) and flew about 140 kilometers, the South Korean military said.

The Japanese government announced on social media that the missiles were believed to have landed near the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and that there was no confirmed incursion into Japan's exclusive economic zone.

South Korea's presidential office, the Blue House, called an emergency security meeting, calling the launches a provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions, media reported. Pyongyang was urged to "cease provocative actions."

It was not clear what kind of ballistic missiles were involved, but Sinpo has submarines and equipment for testing submarine-launched ballistic missiles. The North last fired a ballistic missile from a submarine in May 2022, and it flew 600 kilometers.

North Korea has made "very serious" progress in its nuclear weapons production capability, with the likely addition of a new uranium enrichment facility, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said Wednesday.

In late March, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang's status as a nuclear-armed state was irreversible and that expanding "nuclear deterrence for self-defense" was essential for national security.