The authorities of South Korea and Japan reported this Saturday the launch of "what could be a ballistic missile" off their coast, in an action they attribute to North Korea, according to the Japanese Ministry of Defense in an official statement.
According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, the projectile was fired from the vicinity of Wonsan, a port city located in the southwest of North Korea, around 06:30 hours (local time) this Saturday.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense has indicated that the device that impacted in the sea "could be a ballistic missile," and urged vessels transiting the area to exercise caution while the circumstances of the incident are clarified.
"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 Ministry assured in a statement on its social media.
In parallel, the South Korean Army has communicated that it has reinforced its surveillance device in light of the possibility of new missile tests and that it will share the intelligence information gathered with the United States and Japan. Additionally, it has confirmed that the National Security Council has called for an emergency meeting this Saturday in order to analyze the open scenario following this launch.
Tension after the incident with mines in the Demilitarized Zone
The new episode occurs in a context of growing friction between Seoul and Pyongyang, after the recent exchange of accusations between South Korean officials and Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The dispute erupted after the explosion of several mines in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), an incident that left three South Korean soldiers injured and from which North Korea has categorically distanced itself.
Kim described Seoul's conclusions about this incident as a "farce" and warned that the North Korean regime will respond with military force if South Korean forces increase their activities in the border area or open fire on its troops.
In this sense, Kim accused the military command of South Korea of taking advantage of what happened on September 21 to legitimize new political and military decisions against Pyongyang, while denouncing that Seoul would have carried out warning shots to try to deter North Korean soldiers working on the construction of new barriers at the border.
The controversy and the exchange of accusations occur at a delicate moment, when the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, has intensified his attempts to reactivate a dialogue process with North Korea with a view to reaching a definitive peace agreement, since the Korean War (1950-1953) ended only with an armistice and not with a formal treaty.