North Korea launched a ballistic missile on Saturday morning from the Wonsan area on its east coast, South Korea and Japan confirmed, a day after Pyongyang rejected Seoul's demand for an apology over landmine blasts that wounded South Korean soldiers.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was fired at around 6:30 a.m. and flew more than 700 kilometres (approximately 434–435 miles) toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan. Seoul and Washington said they were analysing the launch for further details.
Japan issued an emergency alert, with its coast guard citing the defence ministry in saying the object appeared to be a ballistic missile and had likely come down, warning ships in the area to take precautions.
The US Pacific Command said it was aware of the launch and was consulting closely with allies and partners. "Based on current assessments, this event does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory, or to our allies," it said.
South Korea's military raised its alert level for further launches and said it would share intelligence with the United States and Japan. The South Korean presidential office's national security council convened an emergency meeting to assess the situation.
The launch followed a statement on Friday by Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who dismissed Seoul's demand for an apology over landmine blasts inside the Demilitarised Zone. South Korea and the US-led United Nations Command have said the mines were planted by North Korea south of the Military Demarcation Line.
The blasts seriously injured three South Korean soldiers on a reconnaissance mission inside the 4-kilometre-wide buffer zone that stretches across the Korean Peninsula.
Kim Yo-jong called Seoul's demands "utterly pathetic" and said the North intends to permanently cut ties with the South. She also warned that Pyongyang was "ready for anything" Seoul might do in response to the mine blast.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung had urged Pyongyang on Thursday to return to dialogue, despite his military having demanded an apology a day earlier. Kim Yo-jong responded by calling Seoul "really despicable" and ridiculing Lee's overture, describing it as "the climax of the farce that everyone should watch."
South Korea has also called on the North to halt recent efforts to fortify its border, including the installation of mines and anti-tank barriers.
Cheong Seong-chang, vice-president at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, a research centre focused on North Korean affairs, said the missile test may have been an attempt by Pyongyang to provoke a response from South Korea following Kim Yo-jong's statement. He added that North Korea may also have been testing a new type of missile.
Saturday's launch was the latest in a series of North Korean military displays in recent weeks, including tests of a purported hypersonic missile system, live-fire exercises, and the commissioning of a new warship. North Korea has conducted missile tests on more than ten occasions so far this year, with some launches following protests over joint military drills between Seoul and Washington.
In recent years, North Korea has significantly escalated its hostility toward the South, disavowing unification as a national goal and designating South Korea its "primary foe."
