North Korea launches ballistic missiles after US strike on Venezuela

 North Korea has fired ballistic missiles off the east coast in its first launch of 2026.

Analysts have theorised that the decision to carry out the launch was influenced by the recent US operation in Venezuela.

The ballistic missiles were launched just hours before South Korea’s leader headed to China for a summit.

At around 7.50am local time on Sunday, South Korea’s defence ministry detected ‘several projectiles, presumed to be ballistic missiles’ fired from near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

South Korea stated: ‘The military is maintaining a full readiness posture, having strengthened surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches.’

Japan’s defence ministry backed up this claim, saying that it detected a possible ballistic missile that landed in an unspecified location around 8.08am local time.

North Korea’s last ballistic missile launch came in November, after Donald Trump approved South Korea’s plan to build a nuclear-powered submarine.

Now, one analyst believes Trump’s strikes on Venezuela has prompted this latest test.

The US has repeatedly assured North Korea that it has no plans to strike the nation in any alleged regime change efforts.

However, North Korea has argued for decades that it needs its nuclear and missile programme as a deterrent for this.

Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said: ‘They likely fear that if the United States so chooses, it could launch a precision strike at any moment, threatening the regime’s survival.

‘The underlying message is likely that attacking North Korea would not be as easy as a strike on Venezuela.’

Meanwhile, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is in China for talks with Xi Jinping, whose government is a key economic backer of North Korea.

Lee is hoping to use China to support his bid to improve ties with North Korea, which has significantly stepped up missile testing in recent years.

North Korea is also set to hold the first congress of its ruling party in five years in the coming weeks.

Economic policy, defence and military planning are all likely to be high on the agenda.

Analysts believe that the nation’s frequent missile tests are aimed at challenging the US and South Korea, while also improving precision strike capabilities.

North Korea may also be testing weapons before potentially exporting them to Russia.

According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong Un recently paid a visit to a facility involved in making tactical guided weapons.

He reportedly ordered them to expand current production capacity by 250%.