North Korea fires around 10 ballistic missiles toward sea off east coast, Seoul says

The short-range missiles were launched at around 12:30 p.m. (0330 GMT) from around Wonsan on North Korea's eastern coast and flew about 250 km (155 miles), South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.South Korea was strengthening surveillance and maintaining readiness for additional launches, while closely sharing information with the United States and Japan, it added.Japan's Defence Ministry said North Korea had launched what could be a ballistic missile and that it did not appear to have landed within Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency meeting to assess the security implications.It urged North Korea to halt its repeated ballistic missile launches, calling them a "serious violation" of UN Security Council resolutions, a presidential statement said."The launch can be linked to the tensions along the border as part of a broader series of North Korean shows of force, although it is difficult to say the border situation directly prompted the missile launch," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean Studies at Seoul's Dongguk University.Kim said the launch also appeared intended to demonstrate North Korea's increasingly advanced ballistic missile capabilities to the US, Japan and the broader international community.TENSIONS RUN HIGHThe launch came as tensions along the inter-Korean border have risen sharply since two mine explosions in the Demilitarised Zone on September 21 wounded three South Korean soldiers.Seoul says the mines were planted by North Korean forces and has called the incident an armistice violation and demanded an apology. Pyongyang has denied responsibility and accused Seoul of fabricating the incident.Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, announced last week that Pyongyang would place loudspeakers capable of blasting anti-South Korean propaganda on standby across the border within days.She had earlier said the broadcasts would operate along the entire border by the end of October, though analysts in Seoul questioned whether the devices would be activated."Rather than being a firm decision to begin broadcasts, North Korea seems to be saying it will have everything ready and watch how South Korea responds," said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University in Seoul.ARTILLERY BATTERIESNorth Korea's military has also deployed artillery batteries visible from across the border, which South Korea's military said earlier on Thursday appeared largely intended for show."We assess that North Korea has several intentions, but the exposure of older weapon systems should be understood as being for show," JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young told a briefing.Defence Ministry spokesperson Chung Binna said placing artillery where it could be easily seen "makes little tactical or military sense".Reuters witnesses this week saw three North Korean armoured vehicles, identified by South Korean experts as self-propelled 122-mm howitzers, positioned near the border with their gun barrels pointed south.North Korean soldiers were also seen erecting fences inside the DMZ.Jang said North Korean activity near the Military Demarcation Line bisecting the DMZ was continuing, while South Korean forces were issuing warning broadcasts and firing warning shots during incursions.Seoul was awaiting a response to its two proposals for military talks and had urged North Korea to return to dialogue, the Defence Ministry said.North Korea last fired ballistic missiles on October 12. Pyongyang has conducted missile tests on more than 10 occasions this year.(Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim and Joyce Lee in Seoul. Additional reporting by Hina Suzuki in TokyoEditing by Ed Davies)