North Korea launched a rocket artillery provocation shortly after the U.S. and South Korean defense ministers met in the Joint Security Area (JSA), as confirmed on November 4th.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported that North Korea fired several rounds of rocket artillery (multiple launch rocket systems) into the Yellow Sea from South Pyongan Province at approximately 5 PM on November 3rd. The rockets are believed to be 240mm systems, capable of striking targets up to 40 kilometers away using standard munitions, or 60 kilometers with extended-range projectiles. If launched from Kaesong, these rockets could potentially reach South Korean frontline units and parts of the Seoul metropolitan area.
During North Korea’s rocket launch, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik were holding their first meeting at the JSA in eight years as part of the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM). Some analysts suggest that North Korea deliberately timed this provocation to coincide with significant U.S.-South Korea diplomatic and security events.
On November 1st, North Korea reportedly fired several unidentified projectiles, presumed to be rocket artillery, into the Yellow Sea from South Pyongan Province at around 4 PM. This launch occurred approximately ten minutes after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese President Xi Jinping began their summit meeting. The projectiles were estimated to have traveled about 30 kilometers.