North Korea has launched a pair of ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan on Tuesday, sparking renewed fears of a widespread nuclear conflict in Asia.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff revealed that the short-range missiles were fired from a site near North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, at 3.50pm local time (1.50am ET).
Each of the missiles flew for approximately 217 miles before landing in the sea without further incident. No injuries or damages have been reported by North Korea's neighbors.
The launch reportedly tested the totalitarian dictatorship's KN-25 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs), which have an estimated range of 250 miles and could potentially strike targets within South Korea, a US ally.
North Korea has claimed that this type of short-range rocket is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, and US scientists believe it could be powerful enough to deliver widespread destruction in large cities for several miles.
The US government has already responded to the launch, revealing that they are monitoring the situation along with their allies in South Korea and Japan, although no troops have been moved in retaliation to the test.
America and North Korea have been enemies since the Korean War ended in 1953, when US forces fought against both North Korean and Chinese troops in defense of South Korea. Thousands of troops are still stationed along the border of the two nations.
If North Korea were to launch a real nuclear strike against the US or its allies in the region, it could trigger World War III as treaties of mutual defense would threaten to drag in more countries on both sides, including China and possibly all the nations of NATO.
US Forces Korea (USFK), the American military command stationed in South Korea to help defend the country against threats, confirmed the launch took place and added that they were consulting with their allies in the region regarding a response.
'Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies,' USFK said in a statement.
Despite the military believing there is no urgent threat at this time, the test launch occurred right away, a speech by a key Pentagon official in South Korea, who was discussing the need to contain North Korea's greatest ally - China.
On Monday, US Under Secretary of War for Policy Elbridge Colby delivered a speech in Seoul on the importance of the two nations working together as strong partners to keep China from dominating the region.
China, which the Pentagon recently revealed was readying its intercontinental ballistic missiles, has been a formal ally of North Korea for over six decades.
North Korea is also the only country with which nuclear-armed China has a mutual defense treaty, an agreement that has been in effect since 1961.
The Sino-North Korean Mutual Aid and Cooperation Friendship Treaty requires North Korea and China to intervene militarily if one of the communist countries is attacked.
However, the agreement does not require China to join in a war against North Korea's neighbors if Kim Jong-Un's regime were to attack first.
Since Kim assumed power in 2011, North Korea has continued to conduct random missile tests and artillery firings, unnerving both South Korea and Japan.
US ally Japan added that the missiles landed just outside its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which extends roughly 230 miles from Japan's coast and is an area where Japanese citizens can fish, mine for resources, and conduct research.
Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kei Sato said: 'North Korea's nuclear and missile development, including the recent ballistic missile launch, constitutes a threat to the peace and security of our country and of the international community and is absolutely unacceptable.'
Researchers from the Federation of American Scientists released a threat assessment of North Korea's nuclear program in 2024, warning that the nation was actively modernizing and expanding its nuclear arsenal, including developing smaller tactical weapons and more advanced missiles.
The scientists estimated North Korea had produced enough plutonium and enriched uranium to build up to 90 nuclear warheads.
However, they believed the country had only built around 50 nuclear warheads, with the potential to make about a dozen more by 2026.
Most of these warheads were believed to be simple fission-type bombs with the explosive power equivalent to 10 to 20 kilotons of TNT, similar to the bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in World War II.
The shortest-range nuclear-capable missiles have been estimated to be capable of traveling 186 to 311 miles, allowing them to hit targets in South Korea, such as US military bases or Seoul.
The longest-range missiles, such as the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, have an estimated range of more than 8,000 miles, putting cities like New York or Washington, DC, within potential striking distance.
