North Korea fired at least one ballistic missile on Saturday morning, sharply raising tensions with the South amid an escalating row over a landmine explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone last month.
Japan's Defense Ministry said it had detected the launch of at least one missile from North Korea's eastern coast, which flew an estimated 680 kilometres and reached a maximum altitude of 90 kilometres. The missile landed in waters of the Sea of Japan, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from its shores, the ministry said.
South Korea's military also confirmed the launch, estimating that the weapon had travelled about 700 kilometres. The U.S. military's Pacific Command said in a statement that it had monitored the launch, adding that Washington "remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region."
Landmine row preceded the launch
The launch came a day after Pyongyang rejected as "groundless" Seoul's accusation that North Korean mines had wounded the South Korean soldiers, dismissing the South's demand for an apology, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang had not deliberately planted mines in the border zone. She also said the incident had further reinforced the view that there would be no contact between the two Koreas, despite South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's "desperate efforts to create a space for communication," a separate KCNA report said.
"We will never allow the slightest space or margin for any contact between the DPRK and the ROK nor stand face to face with them in any case," she said, using the acronyms for the North's and South's formal names.
The nuclear-armed North last tested two missiles on Sept. 20, saying days later that at least one of the launches had been of a "new-type weapon" — an apparent hypersonic missile and glide vehicle that it is developing as a means of beating enemies' defenses.
Sources: The Japan Times — North Korea fires off ballistic missile amid landmine row with South
Japan's Defense Ministry said it had detected the launch of at least one missile from North Korea's eastern coast, which flew an estimated 680 kilometres and reached a maximum altitude of 90 kilometres. The missile landed in waters of the Sea of Japan, outside Japan's exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) from its shores, the ministry said.
South Korea's military also confirmed the launch, estimating that the weapon had travelled about 700 kilometres. The U.S. military's Pacific Command said in a statement that it had monitored the launch, adding that Washington "remains committed to the defense of the U.S. homeland and our allies in the region."
Landmine row preceded the launch
The launch came a day after Pyongyang rejected as "groundless" Seoul's accusation that North Korean mines had wounded the South Korean soldiers, dismissing the South's demand for an apology, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, said Pyongyang had not deliberately planted mines in the border zone. She also said the incident had further reinforced the view that there would be no contact between the two Koreas, despite South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's "desperate efforts to create a space for communication," a separate KCNA report said.
"We will never allow the slightest space or margin for any contact between the DPRK and the ROK nor stand face to face with them in any case," she said, using the acronyms for the North's and South's formal names.
The nuclear-armed North last tested two missiles on Sept. 20, saying days later that at least one of the launches had been of a "new-type weapon" — an apparent hypersonic missile and glide vehicle that it is developing as a means of beating enemies' defenses.
Sources: The Japan Times — North Korea fires off ballistic missile amid landmine row with South
