North Korea launched a ballistic missile of an unknown type in the direction of the East Sea, also known as the Sea of ​​Japan, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported today, citing South Korea’s national defense general staff, days after Pyongyang’s failed attempt to in orbit spy satellite. A short time later, the South Korean armed forces spoke of about ten short-range missile launches that fell into the sea.

The Japanese Coast Guard and the office of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced the launch of at least one ballistic missile as an attack. It has already gone down into the sea outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), according to the Japanese coast guard and Japanese public broadcaster NHK.

The UN Security Council is expected to hold a public meeting on Friday on North Korea’s failed attempt to launch a second spy satellite, an action the US has described as part of Pyongyang’s “reckless and destabilizing behaviour”.

North Korea has been under a series of United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs since 2006.

However, in recent years the UN Security Council has been divided over the North Korean weapons programs, as Russia and China consider that the sanctions are counterproductive and call for them to be lifted. Moscow and Beijing argue that the US and South Korea’s frequent joint military trainings “provoke” Pyongyang, while Washington, Paris and London argue that Russian support creates a sense of impunity on the North Korean side.

Earlier today, a spokesman for North Korean diplomacy condemned critical comments by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about the failed attempt to put a second military reconnaissance satellite into orbit and stressed that North Korea will never give up the right to have this capability.

Pyongyang has made it clear that it intends to put more satellites into orbit this year.