N Korea test-fires missile amid tensions with South

North Korea yesterday said it test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile that it claimed has maneuverable flight capabilities designed to evade missile defenses in South Korea and Japan.

The latest test comes amid heightened tensions between the two Koreas over border land mine blasts.

Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said her brother supervised the test of the missile, which she described as strategic, implying it was designed to deliver nuclear weapons.

People at a station in Seoul yesterday watch the news about a North Korean missile launch.

Photo: EPA

It could change its flight trajectory at low altitudes and was equipped with unspecified artificial intelligence capabilities that would make it highly difficult to intercept, she added.

Japan’s military said the missile landed in waters outside its exclusive economic zone.

The South Korean military did not immediately comment on Kim’s claims.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff early yesterday said it detected the North Korean missile being launched from the eastern coastal Wonsan area and flying more than 700km.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense said it detected the missile flying about 680km.

Kim Yo-jong said the differing flight details proved the two countries could not properly track the missile in flight.

“Whenever we applied the wavelike trajectory mode to missiles, the enemy failed to track the targets from their first skip points,” she said. “There is no way to avoid this attack.”

The launch came a day after she ridiculed South Korean demands for the North to apologize over the Sept. 21 land mine blasts, which occurred about 10m south of the countries’ military demarcation line, injuring three South Korean soldiers.

South Korea said a joint inspection of the site with the UN Command found the blasts were caused by mines planted by North Korea.

The command later determined that the North contravened the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the Korean War.

The South has also called on the North to halt its recent border fortification efforts, including the installation of mines and anti-tank barriers, which have accelerated after Kim Jong-un in 2024 abandoned his government’s long-standing goal of reconciliation with the South and declared Seoul a permanent adversary.

Kim Yo-jong dismissed Seoul’s demands over the mine blasts as “utterly pathetic,” saying the North intends to cut ties with the South forever.

Yesterday’s launch was the latest in a series of North Korean military displays over the past few weeks, including missile tests, live-fire exercises and the commissioning of a new warship.

South Korea said its military stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible further launches from the North and was closely sharing information with the US and Japan.

Seoul called for Pyongyang to halt its ballistic launches, calling them a violation of UN Security Council sanctions and a “serious act that does nothing to help manage the current situation.”