North Korea fires two ballistic missiles amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula

Published April 8, 2026 5:30am ET



North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Wednesday, South Korea’s military claimed. It is believed to be the second consecutive day in which North Korea launched a missile after an unidentified “projectile” was detected on Tuesday. The weapons testing comes amid rising tensions between the two countries after drones operated by civilians in South Korea mistakenly flew into the airspace of the communist country.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that several missiles were launched near Wonsan, North Korea, on Wednesday. One missile reportedly traveled 150 miles and another nearly three times as far, going 435 miles off the country’s east coast, according to the Associated Press. The first missile was fired at approximately 8:50 a.m. local time, and the second occurred during the afternoon, shortly before 2:30 p.m. local time.

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