NORTH KOREA FIRES BALLISTIC MISSILE AFTER SEOUL APOLOGY DEMAND

North Korea fired a ballistic missile towards the sea on Saturday, South Korea's military and Japan's coast guard said. It was launched from the Wonsan area at about 6.30am and flew more than 700km, South Korea's military said. Japan's coast guard said the object appeared to be a ballistic missile that came down at sea, and it warned ships to take precautions. South Korea's national security council held an emergency meeting to assess the launch.

The launch came a day after Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, rejected South Korea's demand for an apology over mines that Seoul said wounded soldiers on a reconnaissance mission in the Demilitarised Zone. One report put the number of soldiers hurt at three, while another said two were seriously injured. Kim Yo-jong called Seoul "really despicable" and dismissed President Lee Jae Myung's appeal for dialogue as "the climax of the farce that everyone should watch", warning Pyongyang was "ready for anything" Seoul might do. Lee had urged North Korea on Thursday to return to talks, a day after his military demanded an apology.

Cheong Seong-chang of the Sejong Institute in Seoul said the test might be an attempt by Pyongyang to draw a response to Kim Yo-jong's statement, and that North Korea may have been trialling a new missile. North Korea has carried out more than ten missile tests this year, with Pyongyang sometimes describing them as trials of new weapons systems. Some tests have followed its objections to joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States. South Korea's military said it had increased monitoring of missile activity and would share intelligence with the US and Japan.