(2nd LD) N. Korea fires ballistic missile amid tensions over DMZ mine blast - Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's military said, as tensions heightened over a recent mine blast along the inter-Korean border that injured three South Korean soldiers.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch at about 6:30 a.m. from the Wonsan area, without elaborating on the type of missile launched.
The missile flew over 700 kilometers before landing at sea, the JCS said, adding it is analyzing the exact specifications of the launch with the U.S. side.
South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities had tracked the launch since its early stage and shared relevant information, the JCS said in a notice.
"Our military is closely monitoring various movements by the North under a robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintaining the capability and readiness to respond decisively to any provocations," it added.
While the military did not specify the type of missile, it is reportedly analyzing its specifications while leaving open the possibility that it may have been a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) or an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
"There is a possibility that the North fired an IRBM with a reduced range," a government source said, adding the missile appears to be similar to the one launched on Aug. 12.
North Korea fired a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea on Aug. 12 in an apparent protest against the annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise between the South and the U.S.
The military did not disclose the specifications of the missile at the time, but there was speculation that North Korea may have conducted a reduced-range test launch of an MRBM, with a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers, or an IRBM, with a range of 3,000 to 5,500 kilometers.
A news report on North Korea's launch of short-range ballistic missiles is shown at Seoul Station on Sept. 12, 2026, a day after the South Korean military concluded the trilateral Freedom Edge military exercise with the United States and Japan. (Yonhap)
The latest launch came amid heightened inter-Korean tensions following the Sept. 21 blast of North Korean land mines inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas. The incident left three South Korean soldiers injured, two of them seriously.
The South Korean military has blamed North Korea for the mine blast, calling it a "blatant violation" of the armistice agreement. Seoul has also demanded an apology from Pyongyang and urged it to halt border fortification work.
North Korea denied its involvement in a statement issued Wednesday by Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of its leader Kim Jong-un, accusing Seoul of fabricating the findings and warning of "merciless" retaliation if the South takes any corresponding actions.
In a separate statement Friday, Kim again repeated the denial of the North's responsibility, while deriding President Lee Jae Myung's pledge to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas as "the climax of the farce that everyone should watch."
She also dismissed Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's proposal for dialogue to discuss the issue of clarifying the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) as a "delusional, one-sided rant not worth responding to." Chung cited the fading visibility of the border line as a primary factor behind the DMZ blast.
Saturday's launch came just 13 days after the North fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area toward the East Sea within hours of each other on Sept. 20.
