North Korea fires around a dozen ballistic missiles after Seoul offers border talks
South Korea's military says the short-range missiles were launched from Wonsan towards the East Sea amid a row over a border landmine blast.
North Korea fired "around a dozen" short-range ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast on Thursday, South Korea's military said. The launches came less than a week after Seoul proposed talks to ease a growing dispute over the border between the two Koreas.
South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from the Wonsan area towards the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan, according to The Straits Times, the South China Morning Post and The Japan Times. "Our military has stepped up surveillance and vigilance against possible additional launches," the JCS said in a statement.
The Japan Coast Guard said separately that "an object that appears to be a ballistic missile launched from North Korea seems to have already fallen" and urged ships to be vigilant, The Straits Times reported in an AFP story.
Tensions have risen since a landmine exploded on the heavily fortified border and wounded three South Korean soldiers. A joint investigation by Seoul and the United Nations earlier this month concluded that North Korea had planted the mines more than a year ago. Seoul called it "a clear violation of the Armistice Agreement" and urged Pyongyang to return to dialogue.
Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, has ridiculed South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's overture, calling it "the climax of the farce". The two Koreas remain technically at war because the Korean conflict ended in 1953 with a truce, not a peace treaty.
North Korea has tested several new weapons recently. The Straits Times said these included a new precision-guided torpedo system and an intermediate-range hypersonic missile, both said to use AI technology.
The launches also come as US President Donald Trump's recent overtures to Pyongyang have raised concerns in Seoul, a US ally, that it could be sidelined in any nuclear talks. Trump has recently appeared to play down the chance of a summit, while saying his relationship with Kim is "very good". Earlier in October, North Korea launched several short-range ballistic missiles a day after Trump suggested the two leaders might meet in 2026.
Last week South Korea proposed military talks to "mutually confirm the precise location" of the border and to discuss restoring communication channels. The South China Morning Post's headline described the North as having rejected the offer. The Straits Times reported that Pyongyang had yet to respond.
Sources: South China Morning Post, North Korea fires missile barrage days after rejecting South’s border talks; The Straits Times, North Korea fires ‘around a dozen’ ballistic missiles into East Sea; The Japan Times, North Korea fires off around a dozen ballistic missiles.
