North Korea fires ballistic missile into East Sea: Seoul

People sit near a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a train station in Seoul on September 20, 2026. [AFP].

North Korea fired a ballistic missile off its east coast on Sunday, South Korea's military said, days after Pyongyang reaffirmed its status as a nuclear-armed state.

The launch came eight days after North Korea fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles towards the East Sea -- also called the Sea of Japan -- as part of what it later described as a joint firepower drill.

It also followed Pyongyang's rejection this week of a resolution by the UN nuclear watchdog demanding that it halt its nuclear activities.

"Our military detected a ballistic missile launched from the Wonsan area of North Korea towards the East Sea at around 3:00 pm (0600 GMT)," South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

The military said it had stepped up surveillance and vigilance for possible additional launches, while South Korea, the United States and Japan were "closely sharing information" on the missile.

The office of the Japanese prime minister also confirmed the launch, saying on X that the projectile was a "suspected ballistic missile".

Japan's defence ministry later said the projectile had "already fallen", without giving further details.

South Korea's presidential National Security Office convened an emergency security meeting following the launch to review Seoul's response and assess the launch's impact on national security, the presidential office said.

The government called on Pyongyang to "immediately cease" its ballistic missile launches, describing Sunday's firing as a "grave act" that violated UN Security Council resolutions.

North Korea accused "hostile forces" of seeking to end the country's nuclear programme during this week's General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

A foreign ministry spokesperson said the IAEA resolution "has no effect on the DPRK's position as a nuclear weapons state", using the acronym for North Korea's official name.

North Korea has legally enshrined its status as a nuclear-armed state, with its leadership declaring the country's atomic arsenal permanent and irreversible.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, recently said the country's nuclear-armed status was "absolute", and called those hoping for its denuclearisation "idiots".

US President Donald Trump said in August that North Korea possessed 57 "very powerful" nuclear weapons, while South Korea has put the figure at between 80 and 120.