North Korea Tests Ballistic Missile Amid Tensions Over Border Landmine Explosion - Sarmad

Seoul announced on Saturday that North Korea had launched at least one ballistic missile, a day after Pyongyang accused South Korea of “contempt” for demanding an apology from the North over a landmine explosion in the demilitarized zone.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the South Korean military said in a statement that “our military detected the launch of a ballistic missile from the Wonsan area in North Korea toward the East Sea,” using the Korean name for the Sea of Japan.

Pyongyang denied responsibility for a landmine blast last month that injured three South Korean soldiers inside the demilitarized zone, a mined buffer area that has separated the two Koreas since the armistice agreement was signed in 1953.

Seoul and the United Nations Command said the cause of the blast was North Korean mines planted on the South Korean side of the border.

The South Korean military earlier this week demanded that North Korea issue a formal apology.

The following day, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, who supports an engagement policy, urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue.

However, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, described Seoul as “despicable” on Friday, denying any link between her country and the landmine explosion.