North Korea fires about a dozen short-range ballistic missiles a week after Seoul's offer of border talks
The salvo from the Wonsan area flew about 250 km into the sea, prompting a trilateral call between South Korea, the United States and Japan amid rising tension along the border.
North Korea fired around a dozen short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Thursday, a week after South Korea proposed military talks to defuse tension along their disputed border.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were launched from the Wonsan area at about 12:30 pm local time on October 29 and travelled roughly 250 km. The military said it had stepped up surveillance and was sharing information with the United States and Japan, adding that its forces were ready to respond to any provocation.
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Mixed weapons drill
North Korean state media said on Friday that the demonstration involved a 600-millimetre multiple rocket launcher, tactical cruise missiles and air-to-surface missiles, Yonhap reported. A South Korean military official had earlier said the launch likely involved the KN-25 super-large rocket launcher.
South Korea's presidential office held an emergency meeting and urged Pyongyang to stop provocations, saying the launches violated UN Security Council resolutions. On Friday, senior foreign ministry officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan held a phone call to share information and discuss their response.
Talks offer left unanswered
On October 23, Seoul proposed military talks to jointly verify the Military Demarcation Line, restore military communication lines and agree on steps to prevent accidental clashes. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young renewed the appeal this week. North Korea has not responded.
Tension along the border has been rising since a landmine blast inside the Demilitarised Zone on September 21 injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul blamed North Korean troops; Pyongyang denied any role. According to Yonhap, only about 200 of the original 1,292 armistice-era markers along the line can still be identified, adding to confusion over where the boundary lies.
The latest launch follows several North Korean weapons tests this month, including ballistic missile firings on October 12.
Why it matters
Repeated launches and border friction raise the risk of miscalculation in one of the world's most heavily armed regions, which is home to major trading partners and investors for India, including South Korea and Japan.
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