Casablanca – North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the sea on Saturday, adding to tensions with South Korea a day after Pyongyang rejected Seoul’s accusation that North Korean mines caused injuries to South Korean troops.
South Korea’s military detected the launch from the Wonsan area at about 6.30 a.m. local time. The missile traveled more than 700 kilometers toward the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, before landing in the sea, according to the South Korean military. Seoul and Washington continued to analyze the launch to determine further details.
Citing the country’s defense ministry, Japan’s coast guard said the object may have been a ballistic missile and appeared to have come down in the sea. It also warned ships in the area to take precautions.
South Korea increased surveillance for any additional missile launches and said it would share information with the United States and Japan. The country’s presidential office also held an emergency National Security Council meeting on Saturday to assess the launch.
The latest test came after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, rejected Seoul’s demand for an apology over the mine blast. South Korea said North Korean mines caused the explosion that injured three soldiers during a reconnaissance mission inside the 4-kilometer-wide buffer zone separating the two countries.
‘Ready for anything’
Kim Yo Jong dismissed Seoul’s demand in a statement on Friday and criticized President Lee Jae Myung’s call for Pyongyang to return to dialogue. Lee made the appeal on Thursday, one day after the South Korean military demanded an apology over the blast.
Kim described Seoul as “really despicable” and mocked Lee’s proposal for dialogue, calling it “the climax of the farce that everyone should watch.” She also said Pyongyang was “ready for anything” Seoul might do in response to the mine blast.
The missile launch followed those remarks the next morning.
Cheong Seong-chang, vice-president at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, said the test might represent an attempt by Pyongyang to provoke a response from South Korea following Kim Yo Jong’s statement. He also said North Korea might have tested a new type of missile.
North Korea has conducted more than 10 missile tests so far this year. Some followed Pyongyang’s objections to joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
Relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated in recent years. North Korea has abandoned unification as a national goal and now describes South Korea as its “primary foe.”
