North Korea launches ballistic missile after Seoul demands apology over wounded soldiers
North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday, a day after rejecting South Korea's demand for an apology over a mine blast that wounded three soldiers.
The launch
North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area at around 6:30am on Saturday, directing it toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, South Korean and Japanese authorities said. South Korea's military reported the missile flew more than 700km (434 miles), with Seoul and Washington now analysing the test's details. Japan's coast guard, citing the defence ministry, said the object may have been a ballistic missile that appeared to have come down, and warned ships to take precautions.
South Korea's military said it had stepped up monitoring for further missile tests and would share intelligence with the US and Japan. The South Korean presidential office's national security council held an emergency meeting on Saturday to assess the situation.
Background to the tension
The launch came a day after Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, dismissed Seoul's demand for an apology over a mine blast that wounded three South Korean soldiers earlier this week. The soldiers were hurt during a reconnaissance mission inside the 4km-wide demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas. South Korea says North Korean mines caused the blast.
Kim Yo-jong called Seoul "really despicable" and mocked President Lee Jae Myung's Thursday call for renewed dialogue, describing it as "the climax of the farce that everyone should watch." She also warned that Pyongyang was "ready for anything" Seoul might do in response to the mine incident.
Reaction and context
Cheong Seong-chang, vice-president at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said the missile test could be an attempt by Pyongyang to provoke a reaction from Seoul following Kim Yo-jong's statement, or it could indicate North Korea tested a new type of missile. According to The Guardian, North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests this year, some of them in protest at joint military drills between Seoul and Washington. In recent years, Pyongyang has escalated hostility toward the South, abandoning unification as a national goal and labelling its neighbour its "primary foe."
