North Korea fires ballistic missile into East Sea — South Korea

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North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korea’s military said, days after Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state.

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The launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea — also called the Sea of Japan — as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

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It also followed Pyongyang’s rejection this week of a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog demanding that it halt its nuclear activities.

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“Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea at around 3:00 pm (0600 GMT),” South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

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The military said it had stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan were “closely sharing information” on the missile.

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The office of the Japanese prime minister also confirmed the launch, saying on X that the projectile was a “suspected ballistic missile”.

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Japan’s defence ministry later said the projectile had “already fallen”, without giving further details.

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South Korea’s presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting following the launch to review Seoul’s response and assess the launch’s impact on national security, the presidential office said.

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The government called on Pyongyang to “immediately cease” its ballistic missile launches, describing Sunday’s firing as a “grave act” that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

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North Korea accused “hostile forces” of seeking to end the country’s nuclear programme during this week’s General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution “has no effect on the DPRK’s position as a nuclear weapons state”, using the acronym for North Korea’s official name.

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North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership declaring the country’s atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

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Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, recently said the country’s nuclear-armed status was “absolute”, and called those hoping for its denuclearisation “idiots”.

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US President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea possessed 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons, while South Korea has put the figure at between 80 and 120.

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AFP

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