DPRK launches ballistic missiles on day when top U.S. official ends visit to South Korea

On Tuesday, January 27, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan. This was reported by the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, Yonhap agency reports.

The military reported that they had detected missiles launched from an area north of the DPRK capital Pyongyang at about 15:50 (8:50 Kyiv time).

The committee indicates that the missiles flew about 350 kilometers. South Korean and American authorities are analyzing the exact details of the launch.

In early February, North Korea is expected to hold its first ruling party congress in five years, where it will announce the main directions of its defense, diplomacy, and economic policies.

The latest missile launch came as U.S. undersecretary of war for policy Elbridge Colby wrapped up a three-day visit to South Korea earlier in the day and headed to Japan, the second country on his trip to Asia.

Colby met with key South Korean security officials, including the national security advisor, the ministers of defense and foreign affairs, to discuss the alliance between the two countries.

The U.S. official's trip comes after the Pentagon last week released the new US defense strategy, in which it called on Seoul to take a "primary" role in its own defense and assessed the DPRK as a "direct military threat" to South Korea and Japan. Also, according to the document, North Korean nuclear forces pose a "clear and present" threat of a nuclear strike on the territory of the United States.

After the launch of the DPRK's new missiles, U.S. forces in South Korea reported that they were "consulting closely" with allies and partners.

"Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region," the statement said.

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