East Asia · 20 September 2026 to 21 September 2026 · 3 headlines · South China Morning Post, CNN, AP
North Korea's missile launches
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles off its eastern coast on Sunday 20 September 2026, its second set of tests in about a week. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detected the first from the Wonsan area at about 3pm; it flew roughly 450km and is presumed to belong to the Hwasong-11 series. The second was fired from Wonsan about 5.50pm and flew more than 600km. Japan’s defence ministry also assessed them as ballistic missiles, and the public broadcaster NHK said the projectile came down outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone.