North Korea launches ballistic missile as President Lee departs for China

People watch a news broadcast at the waiting room of Seoul Station in Jung District, central Seoul as North Korea fired a ballistic missile on Oct. 22, 2025. [NEWS1]

 
North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea Sunday morning, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.
 
Marking Pyongyang’s first ballistic missile launch of the New Year, Sunday’s launch is also the first in about two months since a short-range ballistic missile was fired on Nov. 7 last year.
 

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The launch came as President Lee Jae Myung departed on a four-day, three-night state visit to China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.
 
The issue of North Korea’s denuclearization is expected to be discussed at the Seoul-Beijing summit on Monday.
 
The launch Sunday occurred immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump had announced Saturday that Washington had ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro through military action.
 

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]