Oct 22, 2025 – North Korea’s state media releases a KCNA photo of a missile‑administration test, illustrating the regime’s ongoing development work and foreshadowing the intensified launch activity of early 2026 [19].

Nov 7, 2025 – Pyongyang fires a short‑range ballistic missile toward the East Sea, marking its sixth ballistic launch of the year and underscoring a pattern of frequent testing [17].

Dec 9, 2025 – Around ten 240 mm multiple‑rocket‑launcher rockets arc toward the northern Yellow Sea in routine winter drills; officials note the launches follow a DMZ‑visit by South Korean and U.S. defense chiefs and coincide with President Lee’s summit talks with China in Gyeongju [21][22].

Jan 3, 2026 – South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff detect an unidentified ballistic missile launched toward the East Sea at about 7:50 a.m., the first North Korean weapons test of the year, with no casualties reported [19][20].

Jan 4, 2026 – North Korea launches several ballistic missiles from near Pyongyang at 7:50 a.m., each traveling roughly 900 km into the sea; Kim Jong Un visits a munitions factory and orders “production capacity for tactical guided weapons to more than double” ahead of the Ninth Party Congress [1][3][14]; South Korean President Lee Jae Myung departs for Beijing to press Xi Jinping for a peace role [1][4]; Japan’s Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi calls the launches “a serious problem threatening the peace and security of the nation, the region, and the world” [3].

Jan 9, 2026 – Pyongyang fires multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea, prompting Seoul to convene an emergency security meeting led by Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Jong‑deuk and to urge restraint; Kim Jong un’s daughter Ju‑ae appears beside him in public events, signaling a “great family” socialist image [13].

Jan 27, 2026 – North Korea launches several short‑range ballistic missiles (≈350 km) toward the East Sea as a “military muscle‑flex” before its first Workers’ Party congress scheduled for early February [9][10]; South Korea’s Office of National Security condemns the test as a “provocative act that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions” and holds an emergency security meeting [6][7][8]; U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby ends his three‑day Korea visit and proceeds to Japan, discussing Seoul’s nuclear‑submarine bid and wartime operational control [9][10]; the Pentagon’s new defense strategy, released the previous week, calls North Korea a “direct military threat” and urges Seoul to take a primary defense role [10]; a trilateral phone call among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington discusses the launch, reaffirming rapid information sharing and UN‑violation condemnation [12]; Kim Jong un attends a test of a large‑caliber multiple‑rocket‑launcher system the same day [12].

Jan 30, 2026 – Pyongyang fires additional short‑range ballistic missiles toward the East Sea; South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff confirm detection at 3:50 p.m., the Office of National Security labels the act a UN‑resolution breach, and Unification Minister Chung Dong‑young announces forthcoming interim results of the probe into a suspected drone incursion linked to “remnants” of the former Yoon administration [5].

Feb 2026 (early) – North Korea prepares to convene its first Workers’ Party congress in five years, expected in early February, where it will outline major defense, diplomatic and economic policies and likely signal further weapons development [3][6][9][10].