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By Robert Birsel and John Feng
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North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast on Friday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
Newsweek contacted North Korea's embassy in Beijing for comment.
Why It Matters
North Korea's missile and nuclear programs are a major source of tension with the United States, but the North’s leader, Kim Jong Un, has ruled out denuclearization, instead calling for rapid expansion of his atomic arsenal in the face of what he sees as threats from the U.S. and its Asian allies±South Korea and Japan.
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Friday's launch in defiance of U.N. restrictions came after a flurry of mixed signals about prospects for an easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula, with both President Donald Trump and Kim signaling a readiness for talks. At the same time, South Korea's military intelligence said this week it suspected North Korea was preparing for another nuclear test.
What To Know
The South Korean military said it was analyzing details of the latest launch, including the missile type and its range.
The missile was fired from an inland area of North Korea, around the western county of Taekwan, the Associated Press said, citing the South Korean JCS.
South Korea’s military has strengthened surveillance and vigilance against the possibility of additional North Korean launches and is sharing relevant information with the United States and Japan, a JCS spokesperson said.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi told reporters that the missile was believed to have landed in waters outside her country’s exclusive economic zone and likely did not cause any damage. North Korea did not immediately confirm a launch.
South Korea’s main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, told the country’s legislators this week that Kim was willing to meet Trump, and that North Korea was preparing for “behind the scenes for dialogue with the United States."
Trump met Kim three times during his first term in a failed effort to persuade the North Korean leader to roll back his U.N.-sanctioned nuclear weapons program in exchange for limited sanctions relief.
Trump told reporters late last month that he was open to meeting Kim again, citing their “great relationship.” A resumption of North Korean-U.S. dialogue would ease tension significantly.
But Seoul's Defense Intelligence Agency told legislators on Wednesday that Pyongyang was ready to conduct its seventh nuclear test—as soon as Kim gives the green light.
North Korea has conducted six underground nuclear tests since 2006, the most recent in 2017, and is believed to possess about 50 warheads.
A nuclear test would enable North Korea to verify its technological advances, but it would also alarm its neighbors, including old ally China, and would be a major setback for the tentative effort by Trump to reopen talks.
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The suspicion that North Korea might be preparing another underground nuclear test comes days after Trump announced that, in light of what he described as nuclear testing by other U.S. adversaries including Russia and China, the United States would resume nuclear testing “on an equal basis.”
Earlier this week, the North's military fired artillery rockets as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was visiting the southern side of the demilitarized zone, or DMZ. Two weeks ago, it tested cruise missiles in the Yellow Sea just hours before Trump was due in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
What People Are Saying
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in a speech on October 10: “In order to cope with the growing nuclear war threats by the U.S. imperialists, [North Korea] had to lead the people to make a new leap forward in socialist construction while simultaneously carrying on economic construction and buildup of the nuclear forces.”
What Happens Next
It remains unclear whether Kim would order a nuclear test or if and when any resumption of talks with the U.S. might take place, and if they did, whether concessions would be on the table without steps toward denuclearization.
Update 11/07/25, 2:20 a.m. ET: This developing story has been updated to include more information.
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