North Korea Launches Missiles into Yellow Sea Amid Military Preparations

North Korea launched unidentified projectiles towards the Yellow Sea, Yonhap reported on Tuesday (26/5), citing South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The South Korean military is currently analysing the incident’s details, according to the report, with no further information provided. Later that same day, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that the military detected multiple missile launches towards the Yellow Sea. “Approximately at 13:00 local time (04:00 GMT/11:00 WIB) on 26 May, South Korean military authorities detected the launch of several missiles, including short-range ballistic missiles, from Chongju in North Pyongan Province (North Korea) towards the Yellow Sea,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff statement said. South Korea’s military has heightened surveillance and combat readiness to anticipate possible further launches, according to the statement. South Korea, the United States, and Japan are also said to be continuously sharing information regarding the launches. Yonhap reported that this was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch in 37 days and the eighth this year. (Ant/P-3) New Zealand has reported suspected North Korean sanctions violations at sea, including illicit ship-to-ship transfers and 35 suspicious vessels to the United Nations.