NK media outlets remain silent about missile launches

North Korea's official news agency and other state media outlets remained silent Monday about a barrage of missile tests that the country carried out a day earlier in its third show of force since South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol took office last month.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Pyongyang's official mouthpiece, usually begins its morning news cycle with reports on major events that happened the previous day, such as leader Kim Jong-un's activities or major weapons testing.

But on Monday, the KCNA made no mention of the eight short-range ballistic missile launches, which, according to South Korea's military, were carried out Sunday morning from areas around Sunan in Pyongyang and elsewhere.

The Rodong Sinmun, the North's main newspaper, and other media outlets also remained mum on the launches.

The latest launches marked the North's 18th show of force this year and the third since President Yoon took office on May 10 with a pledge to get tough on Pyongyang.

In a tit-for-tat response, South Korea and the United States fired eight ballistic missiles into the East Sea on Monday. The ground-to-ground Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles were fired for about 10 minutes starting at 4:45 a.m., the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Earlier, the North had test-fired a suspected new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and two apparent short-range missiles into the East Sea on May 25 right after US President Joe Biden ended a trip to Seoul and Tokyo. (Yonhap)