North Korea fires ballistic missile towards East Sea amid border tensions

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards 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 kilometres before landing at sea, the JCS said,



adding that it was analysing the exact specifications of the launch with the US side.

South Korean and US intelligence authorities had tracked the launch from 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-US combined defence posture and maintaining the capability and readiness to respond decisively to any provocations,” it added.