(3rd LD) N. Korea fires one short-range missile into East Sea: JCS

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead with latest info; ADDS more details throughout, additional photo)
By Oh Seok-min

SEOUL, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- North Korea fired one short-range missile into the East Sea on Tuesday, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, just days after Pyongyang held out the prospect of an inter-Korean summit if the South drops "double standards."

The missile was fired from the North's Mupyong-ri in Jagang Province eastward at around 6:40 a.m., the JCS said, adding the South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are analyzing the launch for additional information.

It did not specify if the projectile is a ballistic missile. But the Japanese government said it appears to be a ballistic missile and splashed into waters outside its exclusive economic zone, according to Japan's Kyodo News.

The launch came three days after Kim Yo-jong, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said that Pyongyang could declare a formal end to the Korean War as suggested by the South and even discuss the possibility of a summit on conditions that Seoul drops its double standards and hostile attitudes against it.

The North has long accused South Korea and the United States of double standards, claiming it makes no sense for them to denounce the North's missile launches and other weapons tests as banned "provocations" when they are free to conduct such tests.

Tuesday's launch could be designed to test whether the South would still brand it as a provocation.

In Seoul, top security officials held an emergency security meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) and voiced regret over the launch. President Moon Jae-in ordered a "comprehensive analysis" of the missile launch and recent statements from the North, his office said.

North Korea is banned from all ballistic missile activities under the United Nations Security Council resolutions, though Pyongyang has claimed they are aimed at beefing up self-defense against threats posed by South Korea and the U.S.

If the projectile is confirmed to be a ballistic missile, it would mark the third such launch so far this year, and the sixth known major weapons test if test-firings of cruise missiles are taken into account.

On Sept. 15, the North test-fired two short-range missiles, believed to be its version of the Iskander, into the East Sea, which came just days after launching a new type of cruise missile.

Last month, Pyongyang warned of a "major security crisis" in protest against the Seoul-Washington summertime military exercise. The North has long denounced such drills as a rehearsal for invasion, though Seoul and Washington have said they are defensive in nature.

North Korea has also lashed out at South Korea for its introduction of advanced military assets. Earlier this week, South Korea successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile from a new submarine, and unveiled the development of a supersonic cruise missile in response to the North's evolving missile threats.

South Korea's Navy was also to launch a new 3,000-ton-class submarine capable of firing SLBMs Tuesday.

In New York, Kim Song, North Korean Ambassador to the U.N. reiterated his country's stance Tuesday by saying it has "the righteous right" to develop and test weapons due to threats by the U.S. and South Korea.

He then urged the U.S. to "permanently stop" the combined exercise with South Korea and the deployment of strategic weapons to the South in order to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, stressing his country "would never violate or endanger the security of the U.S., South Korea and our neighboring countries."

Denuclearization talks between the U.S. and North Korea have stalled. The Joe Biden government has said it is ready to hold talks with the North anywhere, at anytime, but the communist country has remained unresponsive to the U.S. overtures.

graceoh@yna.co.kr
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