Kim Yo-jong, director of the Korean Workers' Party General Affairs Department [Yonhap]
Kim Yo-jong, director of the Korean Workers' Party General Affairs Department [Yonhap]

Launch detected around 6:30 a.m. Saturday from Wonsan area; military analyzing specs, range

13 days after Sept. 20 Hwaseong-11Ma-1 test; North's 15th launch this year

Missile fired amid escalating inter-Korean tensions over DMZ mine blast, MDL crossings

North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the Donghae on Saturday morning, one day after Kim Yo-jong, director of the Korean Workers' Party General Affairs Department, publicly shrugged off Seoul's offer of dialogue to ease military tensions on the peninsula. The launch came as inter-Korean tensions had been escalating over a mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone and repeated crossings of the Military Demarcation Line.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it detected a ballistic missile fired from the Wonsan area toward the Donghae at around 6:30 a.m. Saturday. The military said it is analyzing the missile's type, flight range and altitude.

"Our military has strengthened surveillance and alert in preparation for additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan are maintaining full readiness by closely sharing information on North Korea's ballistic missile," the Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

The launch came just hours after Kim rebuffed an offer by Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young on Friday to open inter-Korean communication over the DMZ mine explosion and MDL boundary disputes. Jeong had proposed dialogue, but Kim dismissed the overture as "a delusion not worth responding to and a one-sided lament," adding that the two sides would have no occasion to stand face to face.

Inter-Korean tensions had already been running high following a mine explosion on Sept. 21 in the DMZ sector under the jurisdiction of the Army's 25th Division on the western front. Three South Korean military officers conducting a search operation south of the MDL were wounded in the blast, some seriously. The military initially kept all possibilities open as to whether the mine had been planted by North Korean forces, but concluded after an on-site investigation that it was a North Korean mine.

On Wednesday, the Joint Chiefs of Staff demanded a North Korean apology and accountability, saying South Korean troops had been seriously injured by a North Korean mine, and urged Pyongyang to halt its so-called "border fortification" work that has been under way since 2024. North Korea pushed back through a statement by Kim, calling the South Korean military's announcement a "self-staged provocation" and insisting that "our soldiers have never once crossed the border."

South Korea's military believes North Korean troops have continued to cross the MDL in recent months. According to a report submitted to the National Assembly by the Joint Chiefs of Staff Intelligence Directorate, North Korean forces crossed the MDL more than 20 times in August and more than 30 times in September. Since April 2024, North Korea has been carrying out fortification work near the MDL, including clearing vegetation, building tactical roads, installing barbed wire and laying mines. The military said the work has continued even after the mine incident.

Saturday's launch was North Korea's first ballistic missile test in 13 days, since Sept. 20, and its 15th this year.

On Sept. 20, North Korea also fired two short-range ballistic missiles from the Wonsan area into the Donghae roughly three hours apart. The Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the time that the two missiles flew approximately 450 kilometers and more than 600 kilometers, respectively, and were believed to be of the Hwaseong-11 series.

Two days later, on Sept. 22, North Korea disclosed that the launches had been a test of a new combat weapons system. Photos released by Pyongyang showed markings identifying the weapon as the "Hwaseong-11Ma-1 flight trajectory." The Hwaseong-11Ma is assessed to be a variant of the KN-23 short-range ballistic missile series fitted with a hypersonic glide vehicle warhead.

The Hwaseong-11Ma has been dubbed a "game changer" for its ability to evade missile defense systems by combining the high speed of a ballistic missile with the low flight altitude of a cruise missile, along with unpredictable maneuvering capabilities.


hong@heraldcorp.com