North Korea fires ballistic missile towards the sea, South Korea says

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA missile flies over the sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula during what North Korea's state news agency KCNA said was a test launch of a strategic cruise missile on February 26, 2025 [File: KCNA via Reuters]By Al Jazeera Staff, AP and ReutersPublished On 2 Oct 20262 Oct 2026South Korea’s military says North Korea has fired at least one ballistic missile towards the sea off its east coast.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Saturday morning that its northern neighbour fired a ballistic missile from the port city of Wonsan on the eastern shore of the Korean Peninsula.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Trump calls Kim Jong Un a ‘friend’ and plays down N Korea’s nuclear arsenallist 2 of 3S Korea demands apology over DMZ blasts as N Korea denies planting mineslist 3 of 3N Korea and S Korea exchange threats over DMZ blastend of listThe South Korean military raised an alert for further launches.Japan issued an emergency alert on Saturday, saying: “North Korea has launched a suspected ballistic missile.”The launch came a day after Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, ridiculed South Korean demands for the North to apologise over landmine blasts that South Korea and the US-led United Nations Command said were caused by North Korean mines planted south of the Military Demarcation Line.The blasts seriously injured three South Korean soldiers on a reconnaissance mission inside the 4km-wide (2.5-mile) border zone that stretches across the Korean Peninsula.South Korea has also called on the North to halt recent efforts to fortify its border, including the installation of mines and anti-tank barriers.Kim Yo Jong dismissed Seoul’s demands as “utterly pathetic”, saying the North intends to permanently cut ties with the South.Saturday’s launch was the latest in a series of North Korean military displays in recent weeks, including tests of a purported hypersonic missile system, live-fire exercises and the commissioning of a new warship.