North Korea Accelerates Ballistic Missile Testing Ahead of Mid-May US–China Summit
North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the sea off its east coast on Apr 19, 2026, marking its seventh ballistic missile launch of the year and fourth in April, according to South Korea and Japan. The launches coincide with reported advances in North Korea’s nuclear production capacity and occur ahead of a mid-May US–China summit expected to address Pyongyang.