North Korea fires 2 suspected ballistic missiles in 6th launch of 2022, Seoul says

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons, which were likely short-range, were launched from an eastern coastal area, but it didn't immediately say how far they flew.

North Korea on Thursday fired two suspected ballistic missiles into the sea in its sixth round of weapons launches this month, South Korea’s military said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the weapons, which were likely short-range, were launched from an eastern coastal area, but it didn’t immediately say how far they flew.

North Korea has upped its testing activity recently in an apparent effort to pressure the Biden administration amid long-stalled nuclear talks.

The renewed pressure comes as the pandemic further shakes the North’s economy, which was already battered by crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program and decades of mismanagement by its own government.

The North last week issued a veiled threat to resume the testing of nuclear explosives and long-range missiles targeting the American homeland, which leader Kim Jong Un suspended in 2018 while initiating diplomacy with the United States.

Kim’s high-stakes summitry with former President Donald Trump derailed in 2019 due to disagreements over sanctions relief and denuclearization.

Some experts say North Korea could dramatically escalate weapons demonstrations after the Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 4 in China, the North’s main ally and economic lifeline.

They say Pyongyang’s leadership likely feels it could use a dramatic provocation to move the needle with the Biden administration, which has been preoccupied with bigger adversaries including China and Russia.