North Korea fires short-range ballistic missile

North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile from the Wonsan area toward the Sea of Japan on Thursday, South Korea's military said.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch was detected at around 5:00 pm local time. It earlier said the missile was launched toward the East Sea, referring to the body of water also known as the Sea of Japan.

Japan's defence ministry posted on X that “something that may be a ballistic missile has been launched from North Korea.” It later said there was no impact “on the areas around Japan”.

South Korea said it had strengthened surveillance, maintained readiness for possible additional launches and was sharing information with the United States and Japan. Seoul and Washington are expected to hold their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield military exercises later this month.

The launch came after Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement carried by North Korean state media that Pyongyang's leadership would set up “additional military options” because of what she called Japan's transformation.

Japan's Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said earlier this week that Japan's military needed to be strengthened with a “sense of urgency and crisis”. A recent Japanese government assessment listed North Korea among growing regional threats.

Japan's defence ministry declined to comment directly on Kim Yo Jong's remarks but said Japan's defence capabilities “remain bare minimum” and “are not meant to threaten other countries”. Tokyo raised military expenditure by 9.7 percent to $62.2 billion in 2025, equivalent to 1.4 percent of GDP, its highest share since 1958.

Analysts say North Korea has deepened economic and military ties with Russia, supplying troops and munitions for Moscow's war in Ukraine in exchange for financial support, food, energy and military technology.

Ahn Chan-il, a North Korean-born researcher, told AFP the launch could have been intended to test weapons before an expected visit by Kim to Russia. “If the trip materialises, Kim is very likely to showcase them to Russia or seek to export them,” he said.

North Korea has repeatedly described itself as an “irreversible” nuclear state since 2019. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has offered North Korea talks without preconditions since taking office in June 2025, but Pyongyang has not responded to those offers.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.