North Korea fires missile: South Korea calls crisis meeting

Neighboring country reacts

North Korea fires missile

North Korea has fired another ballistic missile towards the East Sea – its second launch in just a few days. South Korea responded with an emergency meeting.

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile from Wonsan in Kangwon Province toward the East Sea on Sunday. This was announced by the General Staff of the South Korean Armed Forces. The rocket launched at around 3 p.m. local time and flew around 450 kilometers. Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed the shooting.

It is North Korea’s 14th missile launch this year. The latest launch is similar to that of September 12, when North Korea fired short-range missiles from Wonsan about 250 kilometers toward the East Sea and later spoke of an “attack exercise” with missiles and artillery. The shooting came a day after the end of a five-day joint military exercise South Koreathe USA and Japan.

North Korea is a hermetically sealed dictatorship, has been led by the Kim family for three generations and officially relies on a socialist state ideology. China is Pyongyang’s main support. The population has been starving for decades, while a significant portion of government spending goes toward rearmament. The regular missile tests are seen as an attempt to further develop North Korea’s military capabilities and demonstrate strength.

The South Korean presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, called an emergency meeting after the shoot-down and reaffirmed its readiness for action. The government called on North Korea to stop the provocations, citing a violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The military also increased its security alert level and exchanged information with the USA and Japan.

There is disagreement in South Korea about how to deal with its gun-toting neighbor. The conservative opposition party “People Power Party” criticized the course of President Lee Jae Myung’s government. The “submissive” attitude towards North Korea disguised as rapprochement cannot deter its provocations, said MP Choi Bo-yun, as reported by the Korea Herald.

Just this week, Pyongyang complained about a resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on its nuclear program and reaffirmed its status as a nuclear weapons state. North Korea enshrined this status in its constitution in 2023 and has been subject to international sanctions for years because of its nuclear weapons and missile programs.

US President Donald Trump declared in August that North Korea had 57 “very powerful” nuclear weapons. The South Korean government estimates the inventory to be significantly higher: around 80 to 120 warheads.