North Korea fires missile towards Sea of Japan, Kim Jong Un's sister confirms test

North Korea tested an intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday morning, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-Un, said in a statement.

South Korea’s military said the North fired a ballistic missile that flew more than 700 km towards the sea off its east coast.

The launch came amid tensions over border land mine blasts that injured three South Korean soldiers. Seoul and the US-led United Nations Command said North Korean mines planted south of the military demarcation line caused the blasts.

A day before the test, Kim Yo Jong dismissed Seoul’s demand for an apology as “utterly pathetic” and said Pyongyang intended to permanently cut ties with the South. Seoul has also urged the North to stop installing mines and anti-tank barriers along the border.

North Korea has conducted several military displays in recent weeks, including tests of a purported hypersonic missile system, live-fire exercises and the commissioning of a new warship.

Last month, Pyongyang rejected an international statement urging it to halt nuclear tests, calling it “a grave political provocation against our state” by “hostile forces”.

Ministers from the Friends of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a grouping of Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Japan and the Netherlands, had warned that any new North Korean nuclear test would be irresponsible and unacceptable.

At their meeting in New York, they urged Pyongyang to comply with all relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

A North Korean foreign ministry spokesperson described Pyongyang as a responsible nuclear-armed state in a response carried by state media KCNA. Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, in a separate statement, said the country’s nuclear weapons status was irreversible.- Ends