Blue House urges North Korea to cease provocations following missile launch

North Korea tests a long-range strategic cruise missile by firing it into the Yellow Sea on Dec. 28, 2025, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 29, 2025. [KOREAN CENTRAL NEWS AGENCY]

 
South Korea’s presidential office held an emergency meeting after North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Sunday, just hours before South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departed for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and a day after the United States arrested Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
 
Pyongyang fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea on Sunday morning, marking the North’s first weapons test this year. The missiles flew some 900 kilometers (559 miles) and landed at sea, according to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), which detected the launch at around 7:50 a.m.

 
An emergency meeting was convened by Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Jong-deuk and attended by officials from the Defense Ministry and the JCS to analyze and assess the North’s latest missile launch and review South Korea’s military readiness, according to the Blue House.
 
“North Korea’s launch of ballistic missiles constitutes a provocative act in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions, and we urge the North to cease such actions,” the national security office said in a press release.
 
North Korea conducted its last ballistic missile launch in November.
 
Experts assessed that the U.S. operation against Venezuela may have prompted the North to launch the missiles in an apparent protest.
 

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac speaks during a press briefing at the Blue House in central Seoul on Jan. 2. [YONHAP]

 
“The U.S. strike in Venezuela and capture of President Maduro may send two powerful messages to Kim Jong-un: that he faces an ‘existential threat,’ and that he is ‘justified in adhering to nuclear arms,'” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies. 
 
In a statement released following the launch, U.S. Forces Korea said, “We are aware of the missile launches and are consulting closely with our allies and partners.”
 
It also said the North’s missile launch “does not pose an immediate threat to U.S. personnel or territory, or to our allies. The United States remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region.”
 
The Defense Ministry condemned the North’s launches of ballistic missiles as a “clear violation” of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a weapons factory on Jan. 3, according to this photo released by the North’s state news agency on Jan. 4. [KOREA CENTRAL TV]

 
“North Korea should immediately halt provocative acts, which have continued since last year, and actively join the South Korean government’s efforts to restore dialogue and relations for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry said in a released statement.
 
Rival parties in Seoul were united in their criticism of the latest missile launch.
 
“This provocation is clearly an illegal act that threatens peace and security of the Korean Peninsula, a direct violation of the international community’s sanctions resolution against North Korea,” said Moon Dae-lim, spokesperson for the ruling Democratic Party.
 
“Having taken place ahead of the South Korea-China summit, this is a calculated attempt to raise tension in the region and disrupt diplomatic solutions. North Korea’s action, which runs counter to the international community’s effort to pursue solutions through dialogue, can never be tolerated,” he added.
 

Seoul citizens watch a news broadcast on the news that North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Jan. 4, displayed on a television screen at the Seoul Station in central Seoul on the same day. [YONHAP]

 
Choi Bo-yun, a spokesperson for the main opposition People Power Party, also said North Korea was trying to impede progress in South Korea-China relations with its latest provocation. Choi added that North Korea might have fired its missiles in protest of the U.S. capture of Maduro.
 
“Through the situation in Venezuela, North Korea must remember that ballistic missile provocations can never be an insurance for its regime,” Choi said. “North Korea must return to dialogue for denuclearization and peace.”
 
In recent weeks, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has toured several factories, including a nuclear-powered submarine facility and a munitions plant producing tactical guided weapons, ahead of the Ninth Party Congress expected in the coming weeks.
 
North Korea is expected to feature prominently in Lee’s summit with Xi on Monday as Seoul seeks Beijing’s support to improve strained ties with Pyongyang and make progress on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

BY YOON SO-YEON, YONHAP [[email protected]]