South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) released a statement on Sunday night saying that they have observed "several trails" that it assumes were created by North Korean multiple rocket launchers (MRLs) on Sunday morning.
The released statement was in response to a report by local South Korean news agency Newsis which had reported that the North had conducted an MRL launch and cited an anonymous source in their report.
The South Korean military said that they had detected "trails" between 8:07 a.m. and 11:03 a.m but did not give any information about a launch site or flight information for the suspected rocket launch.
They said that they had detected 'several trajectories' they believed to be shots from artillery, presumably from multiple rocket launchers.
After the JCS confirmed the trails, the presidential office for South Korea spoke to reporters and said that "usually, relevant facts on conventional MRLs with shorter ranges and lower altitudes — like of those today — have often not been publicized".
The presidential office also said that first vice director of the National Security Office (NSO) Kim Tae-hyo held a meeting with security officials at 10:30 a.m. in order to discuss the launches, but that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol did not attend the meeting.
A release by the office said that the meeting "reaffirmed the government’s position that it is concerned about how North Korea is consistently improving various weapons systems that cause a direct threat to our national security".
The JCS put out a statement saying "While bolstering our military's surveillance and vigilance, South Korea and the United States are working closely and maintaining a thorough readiness posture".
The released statement was in response to a report by local South Korean news agency Newsis which had reported that the North had conducted an MRL launch and cited an anonymous source in their report.
The South Korean military said that they had detected "trails" between 8:07 a.m. and 11:03 a.m but did not give any information about a launch site or flight information for the suspected rocket launch.
They said that they had detected 'several trajectories' they believed to be shots from artillery, presumably from multiple rocket launchers.
After the JCS confirmed the trails, the presidential office for South Korea spoke to reporters and said that "usually, relevant facts on conventional MRLs with shorter ranges and lower altitudes — like of those today — have often not been publicized".
The presidential office also said that first vice director of the National Security Office (NSO) Kim Tae-hyo held a meeting with security officials at 10:30 a.m. in order to discuss the launches, but that South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol did not attend the meeting.
A release by the office said that the meeting "reaffirmed the government’s position that it is concerned about how North Korea is consistently improving various weapons systems that cause a direct threat to our national security".
The JCS put out a statement saying "While bolstering our military's surveillance and vigilance, South Korea and the United States are working closely and maintaining a thorough readiness posture".