North Korea tests missile into east coast

Nuclear-armed North Korea fired what appeared to be a short-range missile into the sea on Tuesday (Sep 28), the South’s military said, as Pyongyang’s United Nations ambassador insisted it had an undeniable right to test its weapons.

The projectile was fired from the northern province of Jagang into waters off the east coast, according to the South’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Less than an hour later, Pyongyang’s United Nations ambassador Kim Song told the UN General Assembly in New York: “Nobody can deny the right to self-defence for the DPRK”, the North’s official name.

It is the latest in a series of mixed messages from the Pyongyang, coming days after leader Kim Jong Un’s influential sister Kim Yo Jong, a key adviser to her brother, dangled the prospect of an inter-Korean summit.

But she insisted that “impartiality” and mutual respect would be required, calling for the South to “stop spouting an impudent remark”.

She condemned as “double standards” South Korean and US criticism of the North’s military developments, while the allies build up their own capacities.

Washington condemned the North’s latest launch, calling it a “threat” to Pyongyang’s neighbours and the international community.

Agencies