North Korea fires around a dozen ballistic missiles from Wonsan into the East Sea

North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area on its east coast into the East Sea (the Sea of Japan) on Thursday, 29 October 2026, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, as reported by ARY News from Reuters. ARY News published the report at 11:08am PKT.

What Seoul and Tokyo said

The JCS said it had stepped up surveillance and was watching for further launches. Japan's Coast Guard said separately that an object that appeared to be a ballistic missile from North Korea seemed to have already fallen, and told ships in the area to stay alert. Neither government had given a range or flight distance when the report was published.

Why now

The launch comes less than a week after South Korea proposed military talks to agree on the exact line of the border and to reopen communication channels. Pyongyang has not answered. Kim Yo Jong, the sister of leader Kim Jong Un, mocked the offer as "the climax of the farce".

Tension has been building along the border since a landmine blast wounded three South Korean soldiers. A joint investigation by Seoul and the UN Command concluded earlier in October that North Korea had planted the mines more than a year ago. Seoul called it a violation of the Armistice Agreement and urged the North to return to dialogue.

This is the second ballistic launch this month. On 12 October North Korea fired several missiles, one of which flew more than 900 km (our report). It has also recently tested what it describes as an AI-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.

The US angle

The launch came days before the US midterm elections on 3 November. In October, North Korea fired missiles a day after President Donald Trump suggested he could meet Kim this year; Trump has since played down the chances of a summit while saying his relationship with Kim is good.

What it means here

Pakistan has no direct stake in the Korean peninsula, but a sharp flare-up in East Asia adds to the risk mood that is already high because of the Iran war and the Strait of Hormuz. On such days investors tend to move into gold; the rupee price per tola is tracked through the day on our gold rate page, and the dollar on USD to PKR.

We will update this story when South Korea or Japan release the range and type of the missiles.