Seoul, Oct. 3 (Jiji Press)–North Korea fired a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan from around Wonsan, Kangwon Province, at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the South Korean military. The Japanese Defense Ministry also announced that Pyongyang had conducted the launch, and said the missile is believed to have fallen into waters outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and chief of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, said in a statement that North Korea had conducted a launch drill involving an intermediate-range strategic missile. According to the Japanese ministry, the missile traveled about 680 kilometers, reaching a maximum altitude of about 90 km. The South Korean military said it flew more than 700 km. No damage to aircraft or ships has been confirmed. The Japanese government lodged a strong protest with North Korea, saying the missile launch is a serious issue concerning the safety of Japanese citizens. According to Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim Yo Jong said the missile is capable of making irregular maneuvers, changing its flight path at low altitudes. She said Kim Jong Un observed the drill and claimed that Japanese and South Korean authorities lost track of the missile while it was in flight. She said that the superiority of the unique flight profile of North Korean missiles has been verified. The launch was the first ballistic missile firing by North Korea since it fired a short-range missile on Sept. 20. North Korea may have conducted the latest missile launch in response to South Korea’s conclusion that an explosion near the inter-Korean military demarcation line was caused by North Korean land mines. Senior officials in charge of North Korea policy from Japan, the United States and South Korea held telephone talks following the launch. They called on North Korea to refrain from further provocations and confirmed their commitment to close trilateral coordination. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
