North Korea confirmed this Saturday the conduct of a test with a strategic intermediate-range missile launched towards the East Sea, as part of a firing exercise that had already been previously denounced by the authorities of Seoul and Tokyo.
The ratification of the launch has come through Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, responsible for the General Affairs Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and one of the key figures of the regime.
"At dawn this morning, a drill for firing a strategic weapon towards the East Sea of Korea was carried out," she explained in a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), where she speaks of "a strategic intermediate-range missile."
Hours earlier, the authorities of South Korea and Japan had reported the launch of "what could be a ballistic missile" off their coasts, directly pointing to Pyongyang as responsible, according to the South Korean Army.
According to the data provided by Seoul, the projectile was fired from the vicinity of Wonsan, a port city located in the southwest of North Korea, at 06:30 hours (local time) this Saturday, without offering further details about the specific model used for the moment.
The initial investigations suggest that the missile would have traveled more than 700 kilometers before impacting in the sea, according to both South Korea and the United States, which have closely monitored the movements of the North Korean Army and have shared information in real time during the episode.
"Our armed forces are closely monitoring the various movements of North Korea within the framework of a solid combined defense posture between South Korea and the United States, and maintain the capability and readiness to respond decisively to any provocation," added the South Korean military statement.
The Yonhap agency, citing a government source, has indicated that "there is a possibility that the fired missile is of intermediate range with a reduced range," also emphasizing the similarities with what occurred on August 12, when Pyongyang launched another ballistic missile in response to joint military exercises between Seoul and Washington.
The Ministry of Defense of Japan, for its part, has indicated that the device that fell into the sea "could be a ballistic missile," and has urged ships transiting the area to take extra precautions.
"An object that could be a ballistic missile has been launched from North Korea. The Ministry will provide updates as soon as more information is available," the department stated in a statement released on its social media.
In parallel, the South Korean Army has reported that it has strengthened surveillance in light of the possibility of new tests and that it will continue to share intelligence with the United States and Japan. It has also confirmed that the National Security Council has called for an emergency meeting this Saturday to analyze the implications of the launch.
The new arms test comes after a bitter exchange of statements between political officials in Seoul and Kim Yo Jong, following the explosion of several mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), an incident that left three South Korean soldiers injured and from which Pyongyang has categorically distanced itself.
Kim described the conclusions of the South Korean authorities about what happened as a "farce" and warned that the North will respond with military means if the South's forces intensify their activities in the border area or open fire on its troops.
In this context, Kim accused the South Korean military command of taking advantage of the episode, which occurred on September 21, to justify new political and defense measures against Pyongyang, while denouncing that South Korea would have fired warning shots to deter North Korean soldiers working on the construction of new border barriers.
The verbal escalation and exchange of accusations occur at a time when South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is trying to reactivate a dialogue process with North Korea with the aim of reaching a definitive peace agreement, given that the Korean War (1950-1953) ended only with the signing of an armistice.