North Korea fired several unidentified ballistic missiles into the East Sea on the 19th.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, "At about 6:10 a.m. that day, we detected several unidentified ballistic missiles launched from around Sinpo, North Korea, toward the East Sea."
It added, "While strengthening surveillance and vigilance in preparation for additional launches, South Korea, the United States, and Japan are closely sharing information related to North Korean ballistic missiles and maintaining a full readiness posture."
The military authorities are analyzing the specifications, flight distance, and altitude of the North Korean projectiles.
North Korea's launch that day came 11 days after the 8th. At the time, North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) into the East Sea twice, in the morning and afternoon. On the previous day, the 7th, it also launched an unidentified projectile, which showed abnormal signs in the early stage of flight and disappeared.
North Korea had claimed it conducted a series of "important weapon system" tests from the 6th to the 8th. It disclosed that it test-fired short-range ballistic missiles equipped with cluster warheads and also carried out tests of an electromagnetic weapon system and the dispersal of a carbon-fiber mock warhead.
North Korea also launched ballistic missiles on Jan. 4 and 27 and on March 14 this year. The launch that day is the seventh ballistic missile launch this year. Given that North Korea has recently been pushing the development of new weapons such as cluster munitions, it is likely a continuation of that effort.