Amid Rumors of a Visit by China’s Leader, North Korea Fires Close-Range Ballistic Missiles

North Korea fired several close-range ballistic missiles into the ocean on May 26, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said. It was North Korea’s eighth ballistic missile test this year, and the first since the test of several short-range ballistic missiles over a month ago.

According to the South’s JCS, the missiles were launched around 1 p.m. KST from Chongju, North Pyongan Province, the county northwest of Pyongyang, and flew about 80 kilometers before falling into the sea to the west of the Korean Peninsula. Close-range ballistic missiles are generally classified as those with a range of 300 kilometers or less. 

The JCS said it had detected several additional projectiles, including multiple locket launchers, but did not elaborate. It added that the authorities of South Korean, U.S., and Japan are sharing intelligence and conducting detailed analysis of the specifications of the launches. 

More details of the tested missiles will likely be released by North Korea’s state-controlled media in the following days. 

What drew particular attention this time was not the missiles themselves but the direction of the launch and its timing. According to media reports, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is likely to visit Pyongyang for a summit meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the coming weeks, following his meetings with U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin this month. If confirmed, it would be Xi’s first visit to Pyongyang in seven years and would explicitly signal that the anti-U.S. coalition in East Asia is activating. 

In this context, North Korea chose to fire missiles toward the west (and China) rather than the east. That could risk provoking Beijing, which would make little strategic sense for Pyongyang. North Korea still heavily depends on China for its economic lifeline and diplomatic cover. 

One possibility is that Pyongyang notified Beijing of the launch in advance, coordinating the test to avoid any diplomatic friction ahead of Xi’s anticipated visit in the coming days or weeks. If that is the case, the launch reflects not defiance of China but rather a calibrated signal that North Korea intends to press ahead with its own military modernization timeline regardless of the diplomatic calendar.

This interpretation aligns with a broader pattern in North Korea’s behavior. For years, Pyongyang carried out its missile tests as countermeasures against summits, elections, or joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea. The point was to maximize the political effect of each test. However, North Korea’s launches now seem to follow an internal schedule it has set in accordance with its long-term military development plan. 

North Korea enshrined its nuclear-force building in the constitution in September 2023. Showing off its firm stance that its nuclear weapons are no longer bargaining chips, Kim has clearly shown that his regime will pursue the so-called “hostile” two-state system on the Korean Peninsula with its efforts to continue developing new and advanced ballistic missile programs. Now comes the diplomatic side of North Korea’s strategy: strengthening its ties with Beijing, Moscow, and other anti-U.S. states as steps to frame the country as a “normal” state, despite its nuclear program.