South Korea: North fired multiple-rocket launcher

South Korean military officials said North Korea launched four missiles from a multiple-rocket launcher into the Yellow Sea on Sunday.

Citing South Korean government officials, The Korea Times reported that the country’s National Security Council held an emergency vice ministerial meeting over the launches that occurred early on Sunday morning.

“There were shots believed to be that of North Korea’s multiple-rocket launchers this morning,” one South Korean military official. “We are maintaining our defense readiness posture while closely following related developments.”

Members of the council stressed the importance of “a firm defense readiness posture” based on South Korea’s military capability and its alliance with the U.S., presidential spokesperson Park Kyung-mee said.

These missile launches from North Korea come a little more than a week after conservative politician Yoon Suk-yeol was elected to be South Korea’s next president, starting the process for the transfer of power from incumbent South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Yoon is set to assume office in May.

As the Times noted, these launches also come amid heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula due to North Korean missile tests in February and early March.

On Wednesday, the South Korean military reported that a North Korean missile had exploded in a failed test. It was reported that the missile exploded less than 20 kilometers into the air. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said it was aware of the test but noted that it did not appear to pose an immediate threat to the U.S.