North Korea fires suspected missiles as Pyongyang dismisses South Korea’s diplomacy hopes

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile into waters off its east coast on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, a day after detecting a separate launch that dashed hopes of easing tensions with North Korea.

Seoul’s military said it had identified the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area on Tuesday. Authorities in South Korea and the United States are analysing the incident.

According to Yonhap News Agency, citing military officials, the projectile launched on Tuesday flew eastward but showed signs of an abnormality early in its flight before disappearing. The Joint Chiefs of Staff is assessing the possibility that it was a ballistic missile that may have failed shortly after launch.

South Korea typically discloses ballistic missile launches quickly, as such tests violate United Nations Security Council resolutions. It is generally more cautious when projectiles are believed to be conventional weapons or cruise missiles. North Korea rejects these restrictions, calling them an infringement on its sovereign right to self-defence.

Hostile stance reaffirmed

The latest launches came alongside a renewed hardline message from Pyongyang, underscoring the lack of any shift in its posture toward Seoul.

Jang Kum Chol, a senior official in North Korea’s foreign ministry, said South Korea was mistaken if it believed relations were improving.

“The identity of the ROK, the enemy state most hostile to the DPRK, can never change with any words or conduct,” he said, according to state media Korean Central News Agency.

The remarks followed an earlier statement that had been interpreted by some in Seoul as conciliatory, after Lee Jae Myung expressed regret over alleged drone incursions. However, Jang dismissed that reading, saying comments by Kim Yo Jong—the influential sister of leader Kim Jong Un—were intended as a warning, not a gesture of goodwill.

The two Koreas remain technically at war, as the Korean War ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty.