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North Korea fires multiple artillery rockets coinciding with Hegseth's visit to JSA

Published: 04 Nov. 2025, 11:35

KIM JU-YEON
[email protected]

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Missile Administration launched strategic sea-to-surface cruise missiles from the Yellow on Oct. 28, citing a test conducted by the Yellow Sea fleet, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Oct. 29. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

North Korea fired about 10 artillery rounds from a multiple rocket launcher on Monday right before the defense chiefs of South Korea and the United States visited the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, the South's military said on Tuesday.

The North launched the rockets toward waters off the northern Yellow Sea at around 4 p.m. Monday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, adding an analysis of the weapons test is under way.

The launch came less than an hour before U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at Camp Bonifas, just south of the Joint Security Area (JSA) within the DMZ, for a joint visit to the border with Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back.

The DMZ visit marked the first time in eight years that the defense chiefs of Seoul and Washington made a joint visit to the JSA, and Hegseth's first time in Korea since he assumed his post under the Trump administration.

Hegseth was briefed by the JSA Security Battalion and visited the Panmunjom conference room, according to South Korea's Ministry of National Defense.

The launch also came ahead of the annual Security Consultative Meeting on Tuesday, where the chiefs are expected to discuss the transition of wartime operational control and modernizing the South Korea-U.S. alliance.

Viewers watch news reports about North Korea’s ballistic missile test at Seoul Station in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 22. North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile into the East Sea around 8:10 a.m., marking its first such launch since May 8 and the first under the Lee Jae Myung administration, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. [NEWS1]

The military separately confirmed the North also fired another 10 artillery rocket shells at around 3 p.m. Saturday, when President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping held summit talks in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit.

"Our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various activities under a steadfast South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintains capabilities and a posture capable of overwhelmingly responding to any threat," the JCS said.

While the North's launches involving multiple rocket launchers do not violate United Nations Security Council resolutions, its 240mm multiple rocket launcher puts Seoul and its adjacent areas in target range.

In October, North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles, just about a week before U.S. President Donald Trump was set to visit South Korea for the APEC summit.

BY KIM JU-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]