SEOUL: North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the East Sea on Saturday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The military said it detected the missile launched from the Wonsan area at around 6:30 a.m.
The number of missiles, as well as their flight distance and altitude, were not immediately known.
"South Korea, the United States and Japan are closely sharing information related to North Korea's ballistic missile launch while maintaining a full readiness posture," the JCS said.
The latest launch comes less than two weeks after North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea on Sept. 20. The missiles flew about 450 kilometres and more than 600 kilometres, respectively.
The launch also came a day after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, again emphasised Pyongyang's efforts to sever its ties with Seoul.
Kim said Friday that North Korea's border fortification work was aimed at "shutting down the door forever" so that it would have nothing to do with South Korea, reiterating that Pyongyang seeks to "cut off the relationship forever" with the South.
She also rejected Unification Minister Chung Dong-young's proposal for talks over the Military Demarcation Line, saying North Korea would leave no room for contact with South Korea and describing any encounter with the South as "a nightmare". - Korean Herald/ANN
